The Hinata House
by Rainbowkittyblossomwings
Summary: Located just south of Tokyo, the Hinata House is an esteemed and well-funded mental institution. Patients' conditions range from hallucinating aliens to compulsive lying. The Hinata House strives for a calm, relaxing environment for recalibration and rehabilitation. Visitors get 1 hour max. And whatever you do, don't touch Floor 4. [AU]
1. Fuyuki's Messy Floor and Hair

**All right, so this is a collboration story me and RunwithscissorsXXXbattlescars are writing for the summer. She gave me a copy and paste thing to write for the author's note but I threw that sort of out and wrote my own.**

**We'll be alternating on chapters. The first chapter though is hers. **

**Together we'll call ourselves Rainbowkittybattlescars. That will be our name.**

**Anyway the disclaimer: Neither of us own anything. Not even the computer I'm writing on. Life is all a lie.**

**Also if your triggered by unreality or anything don't read this. **

* * *

"Fuyuki?"

Natsumi rapped the back of her knuckles against Fuyuki's door. No response came from him, so she tapped a little bit harder. "Fuyuki!" Her voice was coaxing, just barely above a whisper.

The door opened itself, and Natsumi poked her head in, peering around the room. She wasn't sure where Fuyuki was. Bars of sunlight streamed into the room, obscured in a corner where a plant was set by the window; although the blinds were down, it was morning and the early sun shone brightly. The floor was cluttered with toys and manga books, undoubtedly belonging to that green idiot. She still didn't see her brother but she walked into the room anyway, thinking little of the sloppy door-closing job. Fuyuki's door didn't need to be locked, anyway.

"…Sis?" asked a sleepy voice. Natsumi's eyes met those of her brother's, and a smile caused her lips to curl. So that was where was—still in bed.

Fuyuki rubbed his eyes and let out a yawn. He glanced at the clock on his bed-stand. "It's 7:15 in the morning. Are you sure you're…?"

"It's fine," said Natsumi with a reassuring laugh. "But what about you, Fuyuki? You ought to be up already."

Fuyuki looked off to the side. "Yeah, but I stayed up a little last night…."

"Ha! You're too excited." She ruffled his already-messy bed-head. Fuyuki had such a bad one, and she knew this because she was his sister, but any stranger looking at his messy blue hair after he had just woken up would see no difference between the new accidental hairstyle and his usual gravity-defying cowlicks.

"So! Up you go." Natsumi put down the bag she had been holding so she could wrap her hands around his wrists and hoist him up from his bed.

Fuyuki shook her hands off and laughed. "Sis, I'm too old now for you to be doing everything for me."

"Oh, come on now, Fuyuki! I'm just enjoying it while it lasts." She leaned forward and looked at him teasingly. "Besides, I'm your older sister. It's my job to baby you…."

Subconsciously, Natsumi trailed off, leaving the sentence as though she hadn't mean for it to end quite yet. She had chosen her words carefully. Fuyuki was old enough to be taking care of himself. She quickly shook the worrisome thought from her head.

"Well. Ah." Natsumi lifted up the bag she had put down, and pushed it toward Fuyuki. "This is for you. Happy birthday."

"You remembered!" said Fuyuki with glee. He took the back in his hands and set it in his lap, sitting back down on his bed to search through it. Natsumi grinned and walked around Fuyuki eagerly. Just as his finger began to peel back a strip of tape on a wrapped shallow box shape, Natsumi's foot came down on something sharp, hard, and plastic.

"Ow!" she yelped in pain and brought her foot up. Fuyuki stood up to catch her as she fell against his bed, and all the presents spilled from his lap.

"What did I step on?" Natsumi winced and scanned the floor. She knew she should have been more careful in maneuvering around the cluttered mess when she came in the room, probably pushed all the junk to the side or something. Fuyuki's room was usually messy, but this was practically _insane_.

What she had stepped on, she quickly saw, was a small plastic Gundam figurine that looked as if it had been newly assembled. Seeing its sharp shield pointing upward, Natsumi began to rub the bottom of her socked foot.

"Sorry." Fuyuki sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Sarge left his stuff all over the floor."

"What was he doing last night?" asked Natsumi. "Wait—_that's_ why you were up so late—Ohh." Her eyebrows twisted downward. "That idiot! Why am I not surprised."

Fuyuki laughed again. "Aw, you should forgive him, sis. It's better than making his late-night invasion plans with the rest of the frogs."

Natsumi peered at him a moment, a bit silent as she wondered what to say. Finally she looked downward into her lap. "Y-yeah, I guess so."

"Haha, I _know_!" Fuyuki clasped his hands on his knees and gazed toward the ceiling. "Remember when the Sarge and the others brought the house to life, and you thought that it was trying to attack us, but it was actually just trying to show us its love?"

Natsumi inhaled through her nose, very silent, and then gently let out her breath. "Fuyuki…."

"Oh! Or the time the Sarge and I went to Easter Island and didn't tell you? You were stumped for the longest time; you didn't know where on Earth we were!" He quickly corrected himself. "Or Pokopen, I mean, as the aliens call it."

"Fuyuki…."

He paused. "I think the Sarge might have died on that island. But then he came back as a plant, and defeated the Akuaku."

Natsumi gave up and forced a smile. "R-really, now? That sounds… exciting."

"Ha! But oh, you should have been there." Fuyuki thought a moment. "Or were you there…? Hm, no, I don't think you were, since you clearly don't remember…."

"Fuyuki…." Natsumi took a breath and smiled. "You should open your presents now and see what I've gotten you."

"You're right, sis." Fuyuki picked up his presents from off the ground and put them back into his lap. His finger hovered over the piece of tape he had halfway peeled off the top one before Natsumi hurt her foot, but his fingers moved to the edge of the gift. "Is it… a picture frame?" He looked at his sister, who shook her head excitedly.

Ever since they were little, Natsumi and Fuyuki always made a game of opening presents. Before the wrapping came off, they would have to guess what it was. Round objects were the easiest, but rectangular ones were always much harder since there were lots of them and they could be anything, really.

"Not a picture frame…. Hmmm…." Fuyuki's fingers traced all around the edge, until he came upon familiar, uniform grooves on three of its sides. "I feel… hm… papers? Oh! It's a book!"

Natsumi giggled. "Go on. Open it up."

Fuyuki had a marvelous look in his eyes as he tore off the paper and looked at the book's cover, which depicted a fictional adventurous scene. "Ah, an adventure book, I see."

"You've been doing a lot of reading, haven't you?" Natsumi tucked her hands between her knees and rocked on Fuyuki's mattress. "Couldn't let you be bored all the time."

"Bored? I'm not bored. I've got the Sarge to talk to. He always has the greatest stories." An air of excitement flashed in Fuyuki's eyes. "Ooh, I wonder if one of these in an occult book. You couldn't have, sis, could you?" Natsumi opened her mouth, then shut it. "Oh, thank you, sis!" Fuyuki bent down and picked up the next present, which he instantly recognized as another book. "It's a—"

"Yeah, it's a book."

Elatedly, Fuyuki tore off the wrapping. The look in his eyes dimmed slightly, but he did well in hiding it. "Oh, a war history book. That's cool." Under his breath, he muttered something about keeping it away from the Corporal.

Natsumi watched him for a moment, then clapped her hands together. "Okay! Open the last one now. You'll like this one a lot."

That got him. Fuyuki picked up the last present hidden away by pale green wrapping, undoubtedly another book, and peeled away the paper covering it. He held it up with delight. "A master collection of ancient myths! No way!"

"Yes way," said Natsumi as gave his arm a playful little punch. "Do you like it?"

"Mm-hm." Fuyuki discreetly peered back down into the back, and Natsumi had a sinking feeling.

"Wh-what is it?" Her heart began to pound.

"Oh, well… did you happen to get the latest issue of _Occult Monthly_…?"

"Oh. Um." She swallowed, trying to steady the shakiness in her voice. "W-well, the thing is, Fuyuki, I haven't really had the time…. I mean…." She swallowed again, blinking back as she could feel her face heating.

"That's okay, sis. I know you've been really busy." Fuyuki smiled. He was always so good at being the assuring one. He was a lot of things. And he was Natsumi's brother. Her very important, very valuable, precious family member.

"N-no, Fuyuki…." She pressed her palms together. "I—I think I may have time later today to pick one up…. And then I'll give it to you after school. Is that all right?"

Fuyuki's face brightened. "You really don't have to."

"B-but I will. Because it's your birthday." Natsumi stared him in the eye, but then she quickly looked away. That wasn't a good idea. She didn't want to ruin Fuyuki's birthday with her stupid emotions. She turned from him, wiped her eyes, then turned back to give him a tight, long hug.

"I love you, Fuyuki. I love you very, very much." She realized that her voice was a bit shaky-sounding, but it didn't look like Fuyuki noticed. He was just really glad to be getting a hug from his sister.

"Love you too, sis." He pat her back. "Thanks for the presents. Now you'd better get to school or else you'll be late, okay?"

"All right. All right then." She pulled away, and stole one last look at Fuyuki. He was growing older now, but he was still Natsumi's baby brother, with his disheveled hair and kid-like excitement whenever he got a new book. Seeing him smiling made her smile, as well. No way she could feel down when he gave her a look like that.

"Okay!" Natsumi stood up, taking care not to step on another Gunpla this time. "I'm off to school. See you in the afternoon, Fuyuki, okay?"

"Okay!" he smiled back. Natsumi walked off and waved to him as she exited the door, shutting it quietly on her way out.

As she through the halls of the Hinata House, toward the exit, she felt energy building up in the muscles in her arms and legs. She'd make sure that Fuyuki had a great birthday. She'd get him that stupid magazine, and maybe cook him a cake, too, if she had time. No, scratch that, Natsumi thought. She wouldn't have time to make a cake if she was also going to the bookstore to get the dumb magazine. She'd probably have to buy one instead. She didn't have much money, but she was pretty sure she'd be able to get some, since it was a Friday and so she'd be getting a paycheck for the week at both her jobs afterschool and in the evening. Then, that meant tomorrow would be the weekend, and she could talk to Fuyuki even more since she wouldn't have school to worry about. Yeah, she could make things work.

Natsumi shut the doors behind her as she exited the building. She paused before walking too far off, still thinking things over. She really did want to make Fuyuki a cake. But to make a cake, she'd have to cut out her trip to the bookstore to get Fuyuki that magazine. If she'd been thinking beforehand, she could have just gotten the stupid magazine a week ago instead of lying to Fuyuki and saying that she hadn't had any time.

Natsumi could feel the tears coming back already. Magazines like those were stupid and full of lies. But what could she do? It was Fuyuki's birthday. Maybe letting it slip just this once…. Fuyuki's birthday ought to be really special, after all. He hardly had any time to have fun nowadays.

Natsumi clenched her fists, letting the tears fly loose as they pleased. Outside where Fuyuki couldn't see, she usually allowed this to happen. She stuffed down the guilt she felt, and began to run away from the building, refusing to give so much as a backward glance at Fuyuki's new home as of a few months ago—the Hinata Mental Institution.


	2. Cake and Balloons for Lunch

**So hey, second chapter. I wrote this one. Yep. Not much to say.**

**Runwithscissors made the titles though. I regret them and giving her the power. She said she wanted to do it because "You don't captilize the beginning of every word in the sentence."**

**She edited this chapter she went grammar nazi on it. It was terrifying.  
**

* * *

"You're short a few 50 yen, miss."

The bookstore clerk looked at Natsumi impatiently after Natsumi had requested the one item she was buying, the monthly occult magazine-issue #47—"Evidence of Aliens' Involvement with the Dinosaurs." Natsumi didn't care for the occult at all, but it was Fuyuki's birthday and she would get him whatever he wanted to make this day at least a little more special for him. He deserved that at least. After all, he was a precious family member and she wasn't prepared to let anymore sadness befall him.

"Sorry…." Natsumi apologized. With a nervous giggle, she dug into her pocket to find the money she needed. She handed it over to the clerk, glad that she was able to find a bookstore that was carrying Fuyuki's favorite magazine so cheaply, it fit her price range just barely.

"You interested in things like this?" The store clerk leaned her arm on the check-out counter as she rung her up and put the magazine in a bag. "I always found them complete bullshit myself. I mean, aliens? Real and wandering around earth somewhere? It just doesn't seem believable."

"Yeah…" Natsumi awkwardly agreed, "I guess I can understand that viewpoint." The clerk looked at her oddly like she was a nut. "Oh, no, before you get it wrong I'm not into the occult and aliens! This is a present for my little brother. It's his birthday today."

"Oh. That makes sense. Younger boys are more likely to go through the phase of being into aliens and stuff like that. I myself have a brother who's _crazy_ about dinosaurs," the clerk answered.

Natsumi bit her lip. "I wish it was just a phase…" she muttered under her breath. The clerk heard her, though.

"I'm sure it is. And if it's not, who knows? Maybe he'll get into science and become an astronaut or something! It's not completely hopeless, after all." The clerk tried to cheer up Natsumi.

Natsumi took the plastic bag with the occult magazine and turned away before answering. She made a quick dash out of the store to the dismay of the clerk. Scratching her head, the clerk just shrugged. Had she said something wrong?

Outside the store, Natsumi leaned against the side of the building and held the bag against her heart.

_What if it is completely hopeless, though?_ she wondered._ The doctors have said that Fuyuki's making no progress in his treatment at all. _Natsumi tried not to cry. Today was a happy day. No tears were supposed to be shed.

"I hate aliens…" she muttered to keep herself from crying. It seemed to work and keep her focused; after all, it was easier to be angry than sad and it kept her more focused on her goal. Soon enough, she wiped her eyes, ready to go to the supermarket and pick up Fuyuki's cake. The sooner she did that, the sooner she'd see her precious brother again. Glancing up, she saw that the sun was still bright in the sky, even though it was nearing the evening.

"All right, I think I have enough…" Natsumi mentally counted her cash on hand and stood up straight, ready to depart. "I'll be there soon, Fuyuki."

* * *

"You're short 50 yen," the clerk told Natsumi as he rung up her cash and cake.

"Again?" Natsumi almost yelled but instead only expressed her severe frustration. "Just a sec." She tried not to curse her rotten luck and instead cursed her lack of income. Fishing through her pocket, though, she found nothing. "N-no…." She searched the other pocket and then her purse. There was nothing there.

"No…. No, no, no, no!" Natsumi kept repeating. If she couldn't get Fuyuki a cake, he wouldn't have a normal birthday. He needed this. He needed one normal day. Just once.

"I'm sorry, but if you don't have the cash, we can't let you purchase this," the clerk told her. "That's one of our policies."

"B-but… I need this…." Natsumi looked to the clerk with reddening eyes. "It's my brother's birthday…. You don't understand…."

"I'm sorry, but—" The clerk was cut off.

"Natsumi?" A questioning yet familiar voice filled Natsumi's ears as she turned the girl in the line next to her. "Is that you?"

"Satsuki…." Natsumi wiped a small tear from her eyes, "Could I borrow 50 yen from you? Please? I'll make it up to you and pay you back, I promise!" Natsumi begged.

"Sure. As long you let me talk to you after the clerk rings up my drink. I haven't seen you in a while with how much you've been working." Satsuki smiled. Natsumi smiled too. She usually didn't count on her friends—usually stayed strong and helped herself—but when she did count on her friends, it always went well and it reminded Natsumi that she wasn't alone.

"All right," Natsumi answered as Satsuki handed her the money. She quickly bought the cake and waited for Satsuki to finish her purchase.

After Satsuki had gotten her drink, she walked outside the store, accompanying Natsumi and stretching.

"You've been so busy, I haven't seen you in so long!" Satsuki finally spoke. "Well, outside of school, I mean."

"Yeah, I've been working part-time, remember?" Natsumi reminded her.

"Oh yeah. Will you be off of work for summer vacation when school lets out?" Satsuki asked. "Yayoi and I would love for you to maybe come on a trip with us to the beach. It would be just like old times, and it would be super fun!"

"I can't," Natsumi responded with hesitation. "I'm going to take a third job when school is let off for summer break."

"Really? Geez..." Satsuki frowned awkwardly. She tried to change the subject. "Who's the cake for, anyway?"

"Fuyuki. My little brother. It's his birthday," Natsumi answered.

"Fuyuki?" Satsuki asked, "Isn't that the guy who fell off the school roof six months ago?"

"…Y-yeah…" said Natsumi.

"He had been skipping school before that too, wasn't he? Is your brother a delinquent or something? Maybe he was hanging out with that upperclassmen Saburo."

"My brother's not a delinquent." Natsumi responded. She wanted to defend Saburo too, but there really wasn't much to say about that. Not that acting like a delinquent was a bad thing. At least, in Saburo's case it wasn't.

"I heard a rumor or something that he said he jumped off the school roof to catch an alien falling off a hovercraft or something." Satsuki giggled. "But I don't really believe it or anything, don't worry. The more prominent rumors that you should be worried about that _I've_ heard are that he was skipping school to aid in some sort of alien invasion."

Natsumi remained silent.

"Or…" Satsuki tapped her chin. "…was it _stop_ an alien invasion? Well, that's what I heard he said. I've heard so many different rumors about that guy, honestly."

Satsuki paused and looked up at her friend, who was now looking down at her shoes instead of Satsuki.

"But they're not real! Don't worry! Anyway, how's your brother doing? I mean, he did fall off of the school roof. Was he discharged from the hospital?"

"Y-yeah, a while back. He fell into a bush so there wasn't as much damage as there could have been," Natsumi admitted.

"That's great! But if he's discharged where is he? Why isn't he at school?" Satsuki asked.

"H-he was transferred to a different place…" said Natsumi.

"Really? For physical therapy or something? Or was it because…." Satsuki bit her lip. She didn't know how to finish the sentence, since the more likely rumor of what happened to Fuyuki would probably sadden her friend.

Natsumi gathered up her bag that the cake was in. "I have to go. I don't want to leave Fuyuki waiting too long for me." She quickly waved good-bye. Before Satsuki could even give her a good-bye hug, her friend was gone. Just like usual.

"Poor Natsumi…" Satsuki whispered to herself. Sympathy was all she could give to the poor girl. It was all she had.

* * *

Natsumi entered the glass doors to the first floor of the mental institution, where her brother was currently at.

"The Hinata House." Creepy that it matched her last name.

Natsumi walked up to the secretary who ran the front desk, a kind woman in her early twenties. "Can I visit room 168 again?" she asked her. The woman had a fresh look to her, a sure sign that she was recently hired, probably around the time Natsumi had started visiting.

When the woman glanced up at Natsumi, the decorative bells secured in her light pigtails jingled. "Hi, Miss Hinata. Visitors normally aren't allowed during this time, but I suppose since it's Fuyuki's birthday, I can make an exception. He's a nice kid." The woman smiled trying to find the room key on her various key rings. "Can I examine what you're bringing in?"

Natsumi frowned and pulled the cake-bag closer to her body, taking a step back.

"Sorry, it's one of our rules," explained the woman with a sympathetic smile. "We don't want anything that can hurt patients, after all."

Once more, Natsumi frowned. She had hoped, since the person who ran the front desk was new and inexperienced, that she might forget the rule. Then again, it only made sense, what with all the druggies they had admitted in. Sighing, Natsumi ceded the cake.

"Hmmm…. Let me look that up in my book…." The secretary opened her notebook, a master-list of all the patients, and inspected the names and information of the patients in room 168, presumably just to make sure none of them had any food-related problems. She smiled and snapped the book closed. "Should be okay."

"All right. That's all that I brought," Natsumi lied.

The secretary gave a tough scolding smile. "I can see the second bag your carrying, Miss Hinata."

"I…. I like your pigtails…." Natsumi's eyes darted all around the room.

"Thank you, I recently had my hair dyed." The secretary leaned the edge of her cheek against her hand. "But that's not going to get me to not look at your bag."

"Fine…." Natsumi grudgingly handed over the bag containing Fuyuki's occult magazine. It only took a few seconds for the secretary to look into her book and frown.

"You know I can't let you give this to him, Miss Hinata," she told her.

"B-but it's his birthday…. And he asked for it…." Natsumi knew her voice was giving out a whimper instead of a calm and persuasive tone. She just wanted Fuyuki to be happy.

"Look, I'm not a doctor or a therapist, I'm only a secretary who works with visitors and mail. But you can't keep babying him and giving into him." She looked her in the eye. "It's only going to make things worse."

"I'll stop right after this. It's just—he _really_ wants this," Natsumi pleaded.

The secretary let out a sigh. "Look, you know why you can't give this to him, right? It's related to his condition, the reason he's here."

"I know…." Natsumi swallowed.

"Do you know why he can't see anything occult-related?" the secretary asked.

"Of course I do!" Natsumi answered defiant. _I know better than anyone does. I know more about Fuyuki than any of his stupid therapists ever will. And that's why I know that he needs to be happy. Because I'm his older sister, the one who's supposed to protect him from bad things happening._

"Could you say why he can't have it?" asked the secretary, trying to be helpful and calm.

"Why? I already know. We both know. I'm just asking you to please bend the rules, just this once," she begged.

"Miss Hinata." The secretary now had an impatient look on her face.

"Why do I have to say it?" Natsumi asked weakly. She hated aliens, she really did, but something about admitting things just felt wrong.

"It's a trick to get patients to face the truth," the secretary explained. "I've heard it helps."

Natsumi frowned. "You're not a therapist, how would you know?"

"Ms. Pururu told me that tip, and she is a therapist, unlike me," said the secretary. "Please, Natsumi, just say why Fuyuki can't have the book. Say it out loud."

Natsumi sighed and took a deep breath. She hated talking about Fuyuki's condition, even with doctors or people she trusted like this secretary Meruru. Maybe that was just Fuyuki brushing off on her and making her not want to face things. Maybe it was her way of desperately clinging onto a normal life. Whatever it was, one thing was for certain: Meruru was right. Natsumi had to say it and face these things.

"Because…" She took another breath. "…it feeds into his delusions and this false reality he's created about his life."


	3. Empty Rooms

**All right. 3rd chapter written by runwithscissorsXXXbattlescars. Not much to say here. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not even my own room. I have to share that with my sisters.**

* * *

The secretary Meruru reached her hand forward, and Natsumi gave her _Occult Monthly_ with nothing more than a small sigh.

"Thank you, Natsumi," said Meruru in a calm voice. She leaned back into her office chair. "You may now visit Room 168." Her lips curled into a slight smile. "Wish your brother a happy birthday for me, will you?"

Natsumi nodded, not daring to say another word after what she'd confided to the woman. Instead she gripped the handles of the pink bag holding the cake and walked off into the dark hallways.

Through the windows, she could see the sky seeping into gentle shades of orange and yellow, brightening the underside of clouds with golden hues. Off in the distance, just above the trees, the blue sky faded out and slipped away. Evening was approaching. There would be just enough time to catch Fuyuki at dinner, which was 6:00 to 7:15 so any announcements could be squeezed into the time slot.

Natsumi hoped Fuyuki would enjoy the cake. It was vanilla, his favorite. Fuyuki wasn't as big on sweets as his older sister; he was more of a fan of the plain and classic flavors than anything really fancy or too out-of-the-ordinary. It probably wouldn't do much to take his mind off the magazine, but there wasn't anything Natsumi could do about it, even though Fuyuki wouldn't like it.

Meruru was right. It would only add fuel to the flames. Likewise, that had been Natsumi's thought behind the lie she told earlier that morning. She would just have to explain to Fuyuki, on the chance that he would ask where the magazine was… which was an unfortunately rather high chance.

The patient rooms were numbered starting at 100 on the first floor, and Natsumi kept her eyes peeled for that familiar "168" that belonged to her brother. All patients were kept on Floor 1, except for the really dangerous and difficult cases, who were on Floor 2 along with therapy rooms and staff offices. Floor 3 was for hospital/sick rooms and doctors. Natsumi was always a bit confused by this since it looked from the outside like there ought to be four floors, not three, but at some point she reasoned that the fourth floor must have been used for storage or something.

Natsumi passed door after door, all leading to rooms belonging to patients who weren't her brother. A few months ago, when Fuyuki had recently been admitted, she used to wonder to herself why there were so many young people with mental problems. She used to think that these kind of issues should have been rarer, and so why did so many kids fall victim to them? Now she walked past these doors like she'd seen it all. There were no more surprises after all that she'd been through.

She passed Room 115, a place that looked just as messy as Fuyuki's. She passed Room 120, where a crowd of people were stuffed in, looking like they were partying. Natsumi didn't know if that was allowed but she decided not to say anything. She passed Room 129, from which a foul odor seeped out that smelled like a mixture of weed and methane. She passed the room next to it, Room 130, and felt a chill travel up her spine.

She'd seen it all. There were no more surprises after all that she'd been through. But whenever she saw a patient her age, she couldn't help but feel disturbed. Room 130, she knew, belonged to that girl with the black ponytail and an adventurous look in her green eyes. It always disturbed her to see that normal-looking girl, _her_ age, here in a mental institution. She seemed so out of place at the Hinata House, until Natsumi had learned from another patient that when she was a kid, she ran away when from her parents to join a gang, but the Hinata House caught her and now it was trying to reintegrate her into society.

_But don't they know,_ thought Natsumi, _don't they know that when she leaves, who will be waiting for her? She has no one. Her parents probably don't want her, or don't know where she is anymore, or they're probably gone already, just like… just like…._

She decided to stop thinking about the patients that felt too close to home. In a place literally named the Hinata House, she had mastered ignoring those kinds of familiarities.

Eventually Natsumi passed Room 150, and the cafeteria opened up around her, but she walked past. She wasn't sure if Fuyuki was in there and so she figured that she might as well check to see if he was still in his room, because it was only 5:59. After walking past another thirty-eight rooms, Natsumi finally reached her brother's. When she opened the door, no one was inside. The cluttered mess on the floor made it look like a robbery had been committed, something that she wouldn't have had a problem believing, what with all the kleptomaniacs and criminals in the Hinata House with a record of thievery in tow. What would be more believable, however, was if Fuyuki's dumb roommate _was_ the thief.

Natsumi checked her watch, and saw that it was now 6:00. She shut the door and backtracked to the cafeteria, where Fuyuki most likely was. She started looking around but couldn't spot her brother. The cafeteria during the evening was always way too crowded, because all three floors had to come down to have dinner together, unlike the other meals, where the groups ate separately.

She had become accustomed to all the diverse faces, people, and ages that were seated at each table, though it had shocked her in the beginning. Now it was just common knowledge to her that any youth could end up here, whether twelve years old or twenty-five.

Natsumi weaved through the crowd of patients, searching for the table that Fuyuki normally sat at. After so many weekends of visiting him she'd gotten memorized his whereabouts at mealtimes, since those were the hours that visitors were normally allowed.

"Sis!" someone called from behind her. Natsumi looked around, but then gave up after a moment. It sounded like Fuyuki had called her, but really anyone's older sister could have been visiting.

"Sis!" the voice called again. No, it definitely sounded like Fuyuki. Natsumi turned around and saw her brother standing before her, looking overjoyed that she came back.

"Fuyuki." Natsumi threw her arms around him, being careful not to swing the cake onto his back and crush the frail boy. She pulled apart and presented him with the cake from the pink bag. "Look what I got! Vanilla, your favorite."

"Cool!" Fuyuki took the cake delightedly in its round plastic box. "It looks yummy. Can we go eat it now—"

Natsumi cut him off. "No cake until you finish your dinner." She gave him a stern look, though there was playfulness in her eyes.

Natsumi followed him to his usual table, where Fuyuki always sat with his friend, roommate, and his roommate's two friends (Natsumi preferred the term "lackeys").

"Ooh! A cake!" The youngest boy at their table, a red-head in dark blue clothing, made a dive for the sweet, but Natsumi brought her hand down on his head and pushed him down onto the table, his jaw meeting the hard wood.

"No cake for you, Tamama. That's Fuyuki's."

"Aw, it's okay, Sis," Fuyuki said with a dismissive laugh. "He can have some." Fuyuki sat down and placed the cake in the middle of the table. Tamama was still rubbing his jaw from the impact, but his eyes shone at Fuyuki's words.

Natsumi left momentarily to get some food. In a short while when she came back, Fuyuki's friends were already engaged in excited chatter about the cake. She took a seat next to her brother, as far away from Fuyuki's weird friends as she could possibly get. When she was comfortable, she began to dig in, forgetting all the stress from that day.

"So, did you get the magazine?" asked Fuyuki.

Natsumi paused just as she was about to take another bite of her food. She put her food down and became very silent, until she said, "I…. I'm sorry, Fuyuki. The secretary at the front desk won't allow…. Won't allow magazines like that." She dared to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry," she said again.

"Oh." Fuyuki looked downward. He tried to hide it, but Natsumi could feel his disappointment. "That's all right. I liked the other books you got me. I can probably just catch up on the issue later."

_Right. Later,_ thought Natsumi. _When is "later?"_

"No, I really am sor—"

"What was that secretary lady's name…" he tried to remember, "…Meruru? Oh, yeah, she's the mail Keronian, isn't she?"

Natsumi fell silent. She had hoped that Fuyuki wouldn't start talking about aliens over dinner, but when he started, trying to get him to stop was inevitable.

Across the circular table, Fuyuki's roommate covered his mouth and laughed. "Keronians? What is _this_ one—"

"Shut up, stupid frog," Natsumi snapped at him.

This time Fuyuki laughed, but his laughs always sounded so forgiving, instead of his roommate Keroro's teasing, manipulative ones.

"You should know, Sarge. You're a Keronian, too."

"Uhhh, I guess I just forgot or something." Keroro watched his words under Natsumi's harsh gaze and casually resumed his eating. Natsumi was good at giving harsh looks, even as someone as dumb as Keroro who always wore his dumb green frog hoodie. Probably to try to make himself look younger than he actually is, Natsumi always thought. And oh, did she _wish_ he was younger than he actually was. Personally, she never really liked the idea of her brother having to room with a guy in his early twenties.

When all of them finished their dinner, Natsumi took off the plastic covering from the cake. Then she picked up one of the plastic knives from the table and began to cut. It was a difficult task, since the plastic knife was so dull. All of the knives had to be, or else they wouldn't fit safety codes. She dished out slices to Fuyuki, making sure that his was the biggest, then to Keroro, Tamama, Fuyuki's friend Momoka, and Keroro's other friend who didn't really talk much, Mois.

"Wow! This is really yummy!" said Tamama, taking a huge bite out of the cake with his fork.

"Tamama!" Natsumi scolded. "Wait for Fuyuki."

"It's all right," said Fuyuki with another of his forgiving laughs. He took a bite himself and smiled. "It's really good. Thanks, Sis." He swallowed his piece of cake. Natsumi frowned, but giggled a little at Fuyuki's childish behavior. "This has been a great birthday."

Fuyuki turned to Keroro and Tamama. "And thank you guys, too, for your platoon not invading on my birthday. It means a lot to Sis and me."

"Uh… sure," said Keroro. He exchanged an uncertain glance with Tamama.

Natsumi smiled. It was so painful to see her brother like this, but for once, she was glad that he at least thought that he was happy. _Maybe things are okay after all,_ she thought. _Maybe they don't have to be so painful. There's going to be no more pain today. No more crying, just smiles and laughter. Maybe I can do that for him. Maybe they're actually getting better._

_So maybe Fuyuki can get better, too._

"Oh, and Sis?" Fuyuki turned to Natsumi with a smile on his face. "Can you call Mom and say hi to her for me? I know she's really busy at work so she can't come home right now, but—"

Natsumi stood up, knocking her chair over.

"…Sis?"

"I—I will, Fuyuki." Natsumi struggled to look down at her brother. Her eyes were blinking rapidly, but she managed a smile just like his own. She checked right wrist. Her watch was on the other one, but she didn't care. "It's been an hour. I've got to leave. To—To call Mom right away. And she's going to wish you a happy birthday. Okay?"

"Sis!" Fuyuki called, but Natsumi was already weaving past the waves of patients coming through.

Natsumi promised herself that she wouldn't cry today. But as she ran out of the cafeteria and through the halls, she broke that promise. Along the way, she bumped into a tall, muscular man making his way through the halls, and they both fell to the floor.

"Watch where you're going!" Natsumi snapped at him.

The man stood up, and Natsumi realized that he was much taller and much more muscular than she had thought at first. There were scars all over his body, except for his face, which was completely unmarred. Across his right arm was a decorative dragon tattoo. As if it made him look any tougher.

Dragon man picked up Natsumi and pushed her against the wall, staring at her with a look of fury in his eyes.

"No, _you_ watch where _you're_ going." His voice was stern, but it sounded calm. He tightened his grip on her shoulder. "Don't you _dare_ tell _me_ what to do."

Natsumi didn't buy into his act. She brought her foot up and kicked him in the side of the head, sending him right back onto the ground. He shouted and yelled, getting to his feet to chase after her, but Natsumi was running down the halls by that point.

_Thanks, dragon guy,_ thought Natsumi, _for taking my mind off of that._

In only a few seconds she lost the man, and Natsumi exited through the doors of the Hinata House.

* * *

**Please review if you could.**


	4. The Platoon's Secret Plot

**Fourth chapter. I wrote this one. Sis edited it now I wonder if it resembles even the slightest bit of what the original content was and what I wrote.**

**Anyway, uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I don't know what else to say.**

* * *

The day after Fuyuki's birthday was sort of a downer after the celebration and birthday wishes that had occurred the previous day.

Fuyuki woke up early just as the alarm clock in his room had rung loudly, forcing him to totter out of bed. He wanted to sleep longer and stay curled under his nice, warm blankets, but the alarm just kept blaring in his ears.

_You'd have to be an expert to sleep through that,_ he thought to himself with a yawn. He walked over to the wall to turn it off, then climbed back onto his bed. He didn't remember installing his alarm clock into the wall, but it must have just been one of those things that happened, just like Keroro—or the Sarge, as he much rather called him—moving into his room.

Keroro yawned grumpily. "I hate that thing. I wish for once I could sleep longer than 7 am."

"I wish you could, too," said Fuyuki. "But I'm sure Sis would much rather have you awake so you can get an early start on your chores. Unless it's her day to clean. Is it?" He rolled over on his bed and peered at him.

"I sure hope so. Your sister's a bit of a jerk." Keroro made a face. He wobbled over to the dresser to do his morning rituals and grab some clothes, yawning and stretching.

Fuyuki moved to a sitting position at the edge of his bed. "Why do you need those?"

Keroro looked at him with an odd look. "Why do I need clothes?" He puzzled over the weirdness of that statement.

"Yeah. I mean, you usually don't _wear_ them," answered Fuyuki rather honestly.

Keroro swallowed. "Is…. Is that what you imagine me like?"

"That _is_ what you're like."

"I still have Gundam, though… right?" he asked

"Of course you do! Is something wrong, Sarge? I mean you'd never question whether you have Gundam or not…." Fuyuki's eyebrows drew together.

"Nah, everything's fine. As long as I have Gundam, I don't care if you imagine me naked, honestly," Keroro told him. He had just finished getting ready. "I'm going on ahead." Before Fuyuki could say anything else, Keroro opened the door to their room and left.

Fuyuki really hoped Keroro wasn't going on ahead to do anything invasion-related. Natsumi would _so_ beat him up if this plan failed.

After getting ready himself and putting on his clothes, Fuyuki rushed out of his room to look for his roommate and best friend. He found him sitting in a chair with a blood pressure cuff around his arm, surrounded by doctors in lab coats.

Fuyuki felt fear rush into his veins. "Wh-what are you doing to him?" It had finally happened. The men in black had breached his house. They were going to dissect Keroro and take him away from Fuyuki. Without thinking anything through, Fuyuki lunged at one of the doctors as if he was going to head-butt him. The doctor easily stopped Fuyuki, as if predicting his every move… as if they had been through this routine several times.

"It's all right, Hinata," the doctor told him in a soothing voice. "We've been living here a while, remember?"

Fuyuki didn't seem to believe the doctor, and he frowned. "You're lying."

"No. No, I'm not. Your house…" The doctor thought for a moment. "…has been enlarged, remember? And Mr. Verde—I mean, _Keroro_ has been sick and we doctors exist to help the sick, so we were enlisted to help him get better."

"You're sick, Sarge?" Fuyuki asked with concerned. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You're sick too, Hinata." The doctor tried to get into the conversation, but Fuyuki just wouldn't listen.

"Why are humans helping an alien?" Fuyuki asked. His heart was pounding. "You're not trying to dissect him, are you?"

"Of course we wouldn't try to dissect him!" said the doctor. "We're… a special group of humans. We're a group that's only here to help. We're a group you can count on and trust."

"Promise that you'll never hurt him." Fuyuki clenched his fist. Instead of donning a childish demeanor, he took the diplomatic approach. "Promise that you'll never hurt any aliens."

"We would never hurt any aliens," the doctor assured him. He recorded something in a notebook and then took the cuff off of Keroro's arm. "And of course we'd never hurt Keroro. We just want to help him get better."

"How sick…. How sick is the Sarge?" Fuyuki asked

"Well we don't know how to tell you this, Hinata…" The doctor sounded awfully hesitant. "…but your friend has quite a hoarding problem."

"Hey!" Keroro yelled. He jerked his arm slightly, which the doctor had to hold down so he could insert a needle for a blood draw. "I thought that was confidential information!"

Fuyuki laughed. "I already knew that, Sarge. It's pretty obvious. And that's not really that sick."

"It is. It's mentally sick. And we're doctors that heal mental sickness. Now, would you please step onto the scale so we can take your weight?" the doctor instructed. "We want to make sure you're as healthy as possible too."

"…All right," Fuyuki finally agreed. He felt he was a pretty good judge of character and could sense no hostility from the doctor.

As Fuyuki weighed himself, the doctor turned to a coworker at his side and dropped to a whisper. "He does this every morning. I suspect he's so tired because it's morning that he forgets that we've already had this conversation 27 other times." The other doctor made a quiet 'oh' sound and resumed his work, showing little interest. Things get to a point where one's seen it dozens of times before.

* * *

After taking his pills as the doctors had instructed him, Fuyuki headed to the dining hall for breakfast. Keroro had already gone ahead and was now sitting down with some toast and unhealthy cereal at his place.

Fuyuki sat down next to him along with Tamama on the other side of Keroro, who was always the first one at breakfast. He usually had two plates of food because he always found someone else's to nab.

"Good to see you, Tamama," Fuyuki smiled. He felt a lot safer near all the doctors everywhere, now that it wasn't just Keroro and him. Fuyuki then dropped to a small whisper next to Keroro, "Are all these doctors really safe? I mean, they're _Pokopenians_. Do you really trust them?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. They're nice people." Keroro ate his breakfast calmly, without choosing to comment on the offensive slur his friend liked to use in place of the word "humans."

"All right…" Fuyuki sighed. If the _Sarge_ trusted them, then they definitely could be trusted, especially if they were humans.

Keroro glanced over at Tamama hand trying to steal away his second slice of toast and asked, "Do you really need that much food?" Keroro slapped the hand away and devoured the toast before any other hands could come to grab it.

"Sorry, Mr. Sergeant." Tamama apologized and gave Keroro adorable puppy-dog eyes.

Hearing the nickname, Keroro made a face. "Tamama, you too? I thought only Fuyuki liked that nickname."

"Yeah, but it sounds cool so I started using it. Don't you like it, _Mr. Sergeant?_" Tamama said in an awfully flirtatious tone.

For some reason, Fuyuki could have sworn that it looked like a shiver went through his friend's back. It certainly looked like that on Keroro's face. Not that he could blame him, since a shiver went through Fuyuki's back as well when he saw Tamama talk that way with their friend. Fuyuki shook it off. He probably read it all wrong and there was no flirtation going on between the two.

Fuyuki cleared his throat. "So, Sarge… did you seek help from these doctors about your hoarding problem, or did they find you all on their own?"

"Hoarding problem?" Tamama looked at Keroro and then at Fuyuki. "But…. But I thought you came here because of some trauma cuz you couldn't save an orphan in a fire? Or…" He tapped his chin. "…was it that you were wounded mentally when a bunch of kittens in a tree drowned after you saved them? I don't really know…. Your story's kind of inconsistent, to be honest…." Tamama scratched his head, thinking about it longer.

"Uhhhh…." Keroro went into a period of awkward silence. "You know what? You can have some of my breakfast. You want the rest of my cereal? It's unnecessarily sugared," he offered

"Oh boy!" Tamama didn't question any further and just grabbed the bowl, hungrily devouring the contents as if his stomach was a black hole.

Keroro quickly made his escape from the cafeteria so as not to be questioned about his hoarding problem.

"You know what?" Fuyuki spoke out loud. "I'm starting to think that maybe the doctors are right and the Sarge really does need help."

* * *

After breakfast, Tamama and Fuyuki exited the dining hall and walked up the stairs to Floor 2. Tamama led Fuyuki to an open room with lots of couch cushions and sofas. The room had a certain serenity to it; perhaps it was the dim lights offset by bright colors decorating the wall. In comfortable-looking chairs, Fuyuki spotted Keroro, Keroro's white-haired friend, a dark-haired girl his sister's age, and two men about Keroro's age, both as far away from him as they could be. In the center of the room sat Pururu in her Ahotoron form.

Fuyuki would have questioned why they didn't go down to the base for a meeting, but lately the platoon had been meeting upstairs with Pururu there to aid them. Nowadays it seemed she was always there to help with health concerns and make sure that they were in top condition for their invasion.

Pururu smiled, her lips and eyes eradiating with kindness. "Ah, thank you, Tamama, you brought Fuyuki."

Tamama crossed his hands behind his head. "It was no problem."

Looking around the room, Pururu checked off some things on her clipboard. "All right, then…. Tamama's here, Keroro's here, Fuyuki's here, Dororo's here, Koyuki's here, Mois's here, Giroro's here…."

"Even though I really don't want to be," Giroro remarked gruffly.

"I know, but I'm so proud of you for coming anyway!" Pururu sounded perky and nice as always.

He turned his head off to the side, and Fuyuki could have sworn he heard him mumble under his breath, "I don't need your fake praise."

"Did Pururu and the Corporal have a fight?" Fuyuki whispered to Keroro while Pururu handed out some slips of paper.

"Well…. Kind of…." Keroro easily recognized who Fuyuki was talking about. "Giroro, to be honest… doesn't really like anyone." Keroro looked down for a moment. "Not even me."

"He likes Sis, though," said Fuyuki as Pururu gave him his slip of paper.

"He hasn't even met your sister, but if he did, I agree—they'd probably be two peas in the same pod." Keroro pointed at the paper slip. "By the way, you're supposed to fill that out."

"Oh," said Fuyuki. He read the paper, and then circled all the "no" slots for whether he had hallucinated yet today, heard anything, or felt the need to hurt anyone.

"It's important to tell the doctors of your progress and how you're feeling." Keroro leaned back in his chair and handed his paper to the white-haired girl next to him. "Could you finish this for me, Mois?"

Mois, instead of filling out her own slip of paper, had been instead sleeping on one of the couches.

"Sure, Uncle." She nodded cheerily, clearly quite sleepy still, and took Keroro's mental health paper in her hand to finish it for him.

"Uncle?" Keroro made a face. "What's with all these weird nicknames…? You haven't been listening to Fuyuki's stories, too, have you?"

Mois responded with a yawn.

She was always sleepy, Fuyuki consistently observed. Always snoozing during the day, sometimes during the activities. The doctors would probably say she was another of those narcoleptic case.

"Now… who wants to start our circle with how they've felt since we last checked in?" Pururu asked to get the ball rolling. "You can even start by telling everybody what you dreamed last night, and the group can examine it."

The pink-haired man sitting near the corner of the room by the other girl raised his hand. "I would be very honored to start if you would give me the chance…" he spoke. "I've been having a wonderful day. I watered my plants and pondered the mysteries and the wonders of the universe. And then I thought about animals." He finished with a softhearted smile.

"That's wonderful, Dororo! You always want to stay positive!" Pururu complimented. Dororo looked proud, until she asked the question, "…Did you take anymore of it?"

"Anymore of what, Pururu?" Dororo asked

"…You know what…." She tried to be gentle on the subject.

"Of course I did. It helps free the mind and brings your spirit away from the earth itself and to the heavens beyond, all while being in one room." Dororo smiled again. "I love everyone." He plopped back onto the couch, sprawling his arms out in a sort of free-spirit-like manner.

"And Koyuki? How are you feeling?" Pururu asked

The dark-haired girl next to Dororo, Koyuki, drew her knees up close to her chest and turned her head away. "I'd honestly feel a lot better if I could go outside instead of being confined here."

"You will be able to get outside. But you just have to learn a bit more about normal society. You'll be free soon enough, I promise," said Pururu. "And you're not being confined. You're here for help. Like in a school."

"This is no school," Tamama piped in with a frown. "I've barely even _been_ to a school, and I know the difference."

"Oh no…. Tamama, please no…. We can't have anymore damages here…" Pururu begged, trying to calm him down.

"SHUT UP, LADY!" Tamama's voice changed drastically, and he opened his mouth wide. "TAMAMA IMPACT!" From out of his mouth blasted a yellow-white energy at the wall. Tamama shut his mouth and giggled cutely, as though nothing had happened.

Pururu covered her head and sighed. "Why do I even try? This happens every day, anyway…."

"Do you want me to go next, Pururu?" asked Keroro. He seemed a little eager to please.

She looked tired after the near explosion, but she waved him on. "Sure. Go ahead."

"I dreamed about Gundam, and then had a fine morning afterward," he told them all.

"That's…" Pururu didn't know what word to attach to her idea of it. "…wonderful."

Keroro beamed.

"Fuyuki? Mois? Giroro? Who wants to go next?"

Giroro looked to the side, obviously not wanting to talk. "Pass."

"Giroro you can't pass every morning. We have to talk about your dreams and day—"

"I said _pass_." He growled at her, sounding peeved.

Pururu squeaked and stopped questioning him. She looked over at Mois but the young girl had already fallen back to sleep.

"I really need to see the doctors about her narcoleptic problem…" Pururu sighed and rubbed her eye, messing up her bangs a little, but she did nothing to fix it. Either she didn't care, or she didn't notice. "Fuyuki? How are you feeling?"

"Fine. As long as you guys don't invade today, I shouldn't have too much trouble. Are you here to help with the invasion or just help with everyone's health?" he asked

"I'm a nurse. I'm here to help with everyone's health," she told him.

Fuyuki laughed. "That's good, cuz I wouldn't want Sis being as mad at you as she is at Sarge."

Pururu looked at him a bit oddly, but all she said was a sigh.

"All right…. Let's move on to the next part…."

* * *

Pururu's group therapy session went well, aside from Giroro's anger and Mois sleeping through the whole thing.

Fuyuki wondered briefly why humans like Koyuki and himself were there, but he decided eventually that he was just happy to be able to observe all these alien rituals. So he piped down regarding why he was allowed to be there.

Eventually Pururu led the group to another room for some sort of creative study and left them all alone.

Fuyuki recognized the room instantly. This was the room that he met with Momoka in every day. "It's time for the Occult Club, isn't it?"

"It _would_ be, but it's Saturday. Remember? Momoka won't be here today or tomorrow," Keroro reminded him. Fuyuki face-palmed.

"Geez! I feel stupid! How could I forget something so important as what day it is?" He laughed somewhat nervously, then sat down to help Keroro build some Gundam.

After all, for some reason he could find no occult books to read instead.

* * *

11 o'clock was something called individual therapy. Fuyuki wasn't quite sure why he needed that or why that was scheduled into his day, but they made him go, anyway.

He entered a small room, still on the second floor, and saw an older-looking black-haired man sitting in front of him, marking some papers. Fuyuki looked down and saw that he was just doodling instead of writing down anything important. The doodle looked almost like a duck, but it was even worse than Giroro's art style.

The man stiffened when he saw Fuyuki, and put the papers away to greet him—but Fuyuki beat him to it.

"Lieutenant Garuru?" he asked, concerned. "Why are you here? You're not mad at me for stopping the invasion too many times… are you?" Garuru was a strong Keronian, and Fuyuki knew he'd have to stand his ground if Garuru tried to attack him.

"Fuyuki Hinata, this delusion about an alien invasion and me being some sort of leader of an alien platoon has got to stop. It's not healthy for your mental state and there's going to be no progress if you keep thinking like this," Garuru informed him.

_Delusion? Is convincing me that I'm wrong some sort of new trick for the invasion?_ Fuyuki looked at Garuru and noticed how un-Keronian-like he was today. Instead of possessing the froggish traits that all Keronians had, Garuru appeared to be a human just like himself, dressed in a dark purple suit a jacket, along with yellow sunglasses and a small hat. His skin was tan and his hair black… almost as if he had started wearing a robot suit just like Pururu.

"Oh! I get it!" Fuyuki smacked his fist into his palm. "The platoon is pretending to be humans or something to trick everyone into letting them invade! Well, you're not going to fool me. I'll never give into your tricks." He flashed Garuru a confident grin. But Garuru only looked frustrated.

"You're a difficult case, Fuyuki Hinata." He brought his knee underneath him and let his other leg relax. "But at least you're not as bad as _him_." There was venom on the last word as Garuru said this in a hushed tone. Fuyuki was confused, but Garuru made him sit down on the floor with him to talk about—big surprise—how he was feeling.

* * *

After the long and difficult pretty almost boring talk with Garuru, Fuyuki tiredly trudged to the dining hall for lunch.

"Hey, Sarge." Fuyuki waved to Keroro and plopped into a seat next to him, or as close as he could be, as his roommate had Tamama and Mois on either side of him.

"Tamama…. Um…. Y-you took my…." Mois paused as she looked at her empty plate of food, wondering what the best approach was to communicate with the jealous (and hungry) red-head.

"What about it?" He growled and gave her a challenging look. "I'm hungry, woman. If you don't want me to eat your food, then don't sit here."

"B-but…." She looked a bit sad. "I want to sit with Uncle! And where else am I supposed to go?"

Tamama pointed to another table with a blonde girl with tan skin that Fuyuki recognized as Asami. Oddly, they looked like two very distinct people, which in Fuyuki's mind shouldn't have happened. At Asami's table were some other people, including a brown-haired girl with glasses and an intimidating sort of man with a dragon tattoo. "You could always sit with group B."

"B-but…." Angol Mois obviously didn't want to leave Keroro's side.

"Or you could go up to floor 4." Tamama's lips slipped into a sly little grin. "I wouldn't mind you getting lost up there or broken forever."

"Floor 4?" said Fuyuki. _I don't remember my house having 4 floors._

"Floor 4 of the Hinata House." Keroro swallowed a star fruit. "Nobody knows what's up there and nobody's allowed to find out."

"No one?" Fuyuki asked.

"Well, there's been a few patients, but none of them came back," his roommate answered casually. "Oh, and I hear a bunch of rumors and stuff that doctors and therapists have actually died up there."

"You mean…." Fuyuki paused and began to shiver. Keroro placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, but Fuyuki's hands tightened into fists excitedly, his eyes sparkling. "There's a real life occult mystery in my house? That…. THAT'S SO COOL!"

Keroro sweat-dropped, along with Tamama and Mois.

* * *

Unfortunately, even though it was visiting hours, Natsumi didn't show up for lunch with Fuyuki. Fuyuki suspected it was because Natsumi was busy with work. For some reason, she was starting to act a lot like their mom, always working.

_Mom would be proud, but she'd also be sad that sis isn't enjoying her free time a little more, _Fuyuki thought to himself

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen his mother for a while. She must have been really busy with work. He wondered if he should call her up sometime and tell her about the Platoon's new plot to blend in with Pokopenians, or about the new floor in their house.

The next few hours, Fuyuki was bored out of his mind talking to another alien that sometimes visited the platoon, a guy named Bariri who kept insisting that he was Fuyuki's extra therapist. But then he started rambling about food and vegetables.

Fuyuki wasn't really listening. It would have been interesting if he talked about something more alien-like, but he mostly talked about cabbages. That and Pururu. At some points it felt like Fuyuki was the therapist, helping Bariri with all his problems, instead of the other way around.

The hour after that was the worst part of the day. Exercise. Fuyuki just huffed and wheezed as he tried to run, but it was way too hard for him.

Giroro tried to help him up a couple times and talk about how exercise wasn't too bad, but Fuyuki really didn't buy into the lies. Exercise was bad. It was the worst. When Giroro trudged away in defeat, some of the doctors came by and scolded Fuyuki for shooting down a patient's chance to feel helpful to someone.

After all of Fuyuki's limbs were aching, he tiredly went to another room on the second floor, one where he was told to meet Pururu again for another appointment.

_Today's been a bit weird…. Actually, this whole WEEK has been a bit weird. It's like everybody's shied away when I mentioned aliens… and scolded me for it,_ he thought to himself.

In front of their therapist, he sat next to Mois in a chair. He wasn't sure what would happen now.

"I'm glad you could make it Fuyuki," said Pururu with a smile. "This group is really important to talk about your delusions."

"Why does everybody keep using that word?" he said.

"I don't really know, honestly," Mois agreed.

Fuyuki turned to her as if she was a light in a dark tunnel. "You mean you aren't going to use it? You aren't going to suddenly stop talking or drop the subject when I mention aliens?"

"Of course not. After all, aliens do exist. But nobody will listen to me when I tell them when I am one." She thought to herself a moment, then lifted a finger by her chin. "You could say, silent treatment?"

Fuyuki could hear bells ringing in his head as he realized this was the most sane person he'd talked to that day. Weird enough that it had to be Mois, the narcoleptic.

"So, you mean, you're not going to pretend you aren't an alien? The—The Lord of Terror, _Angol Mois_, from Nostradamus's prophecy?" Fuyuki asked

"No! I would never pretend not to be! I'm an Angolian through and through," she insisted with pride. "You're not wrong."

"Guys. Guys!" Pururu interrupted. "We formed this group so you could get better, not feed into each other's delusions. Okay?"

Mois didn't seem too pleased with Pururu's remark.

"Look, the fact of the matter is, aliens haven't been proven to exist… uh… yet. And you, Mois, are not an 'Angolian,' " Pururu spoke to her. "Nor are you the Lord of Terror. You're just a confused young girl."

"I've cracked hundreds of planets in half," Mois affirmed. There was lots of certainty in her voice.

"Hundreds? Really?" Fuyuki asked. Before Mois had a chance to nod, Pururu glared at her.

"Look… this therapy session is about trying to find the roots of what caused your delusions…. _Not_ to talk about your fantasies. We thought you'd both do a lot better together than working with the two of you apart, since you had very similar problems," said Pururu.

Fuyuki caught Mois mumble under her breath, "If I had my Lucifer Spear…."

"Well you don't," their therapist reminded her. "I'm sorry. We have a strict _no cell phone_ policy." She clasped her hands together. "Now, who wants to talk about your first contact with your delusions or fantasies?"

Fuyuki raised his hand.

"Sis was waking me up one day…"

* * *

Fuyuki felt that Pururu was a bit frustrated on the group therapy session not going anywhere. He had liked it, though. Mois seemed to be the only one who was acting like her usual self, except for something Fuyuki noticed—this odd, intense dislike of Pururu. Had that always been there? It probably had, and he just hadn't paid as much attention to Angol Mois as he should have. He felt sort of bad.

He and Mois began to head off to dinner together. Halfway through the hall, Angol Mois yawned and stretched her arms. "I'm going to go head off back to bed now."

"But you haven't eaten all day…" he pointed out.

"We Angolians don't need as much food as Pekoponians. Instead we need twenty hours of sleep. You could say, sleepy as a seal?" She skipped off to room 130, then added over her shoulder, "Say hi to Uncle for me!"

_Well, if that's what's best for her species then I'm sure that's all right, _Fuyuki thought to himself. He entered the dining hall again for his meal.

To his happiness, Natsumi was indeed there waiting for him.

"Hey, Fuyuki." She smiled and waved to him.

"Sis!" Fuyuki gave her a brief hug and sat down by her side. "You know… today's been a bit weird…. I mean, the Sarge is fine and all, but Pururu and Garuru keep talking about how there's no invasion and how I have delusions or something." He narrowed his eyes. "I think the Keronians are having another invasion plan and have enlisted the help of the Garuru Platoon!"

"Mm-hm…. I see…" Natsumi smiled and nodded a bit awkwardly at Fuyuki's theory.

"What are we going to do?" he asked.

"Um… uh… work with them?" she tried. "You have to listen to what Garuru and Pururu say, all right?"

Fuyuki's mouth fell open.

_Sis would never want me to hand the planet to aliens! She'd never want me to work with them…. But… maybe she wants me to pretend to work with them and go undercover so I can figure out their plan. Yeah. Sarge is listening, and so that's why she said that!_ he deciphered.

Fuyuki nodded. "All right, Sis."

"Really?" Natsumi seemed a bit shocked, surprised, and looking as if she was in a state of joy. "You're really ready to listen to them this time?"

"I'll do what you say, Sis." Fuyuki had to lie so that none of the frogs would know his and Natsumi's plan.

His sister hugged him and buried her face in his hair.

"I'm so glad…. I didn't want to lose another person…. I didn't want you to be away forever…." She seemed to be crying a bit.

Fuyuki didn't understand why his sister was crying. Maybe it was because their dad had left a few years ago to pursue his research, but that didn't have a very huge amount of lasting damage on Natsumi. For Fuyuki, it had sparked an interest in the occult. But… maybe his sister wasn't as strong as he thought she was. That day, he learned yet another thing about her and saw through her tough exterior, just as he had learned on her birthday, when everyone gave her a surprise party.

Fuyuki hugged his sister back, more for her than for him.

* * *

After Natsumi had left, Fuyuki had to do some more doctors exams before he could prepare for sleep. Once he finished all that, he plopped himself into his bed, adjacent to Keroro's.

"It's been a tiring day, hasn't it, Sarge?" Fuyuki asked with a yawn.

"Yeah," Keroro agreed.

"Kind of weird, too."

"You think it was a weird day?"

"Yeah." Fuyuki rolled over onto his belly and folded his arms underneath his chin. "I mean, Garuru and Pururu kept insisting you guys aren't invading." He shook his head. "I never saw Garuru for such a liar type."

Keroro was wise and said nothing.

"Sarge? Was what he said true? Have you given up the invasion?" Fuyuki asked him.

"If I was invading, I don't think I'd just give up," he answered.

"Have you ever invaded anything? Can you tell me a story about any other planets you've gone too?"

"Sure." Keroro shrugged. He loved having excuses to tell elaborate stories about himself being a hero, and if he could also help Fuyuki get to bed and ease his uncertain mind on the side, he'd love to.

"Let me tell you about the time I beat this commander of this one race… we'll call it _Viper_… single-handedly," he began.

Fuyuki closed his eyes and let himself relax as Keroro's story took place in his mind, making him feel like everything was right once again.

* * *

**Please review, for my beautiful child the cabbage.**


	5. The Healing Room

**Written by runwithscissors. Anyway here's the next chapter. I'll try to write mine tomorrow.**

**Toodles.**

* * *

"You know, my house is getting stranger and stranger…. Have those guys in white lab coats always been there?"

Fuyuki looked to Keroro for an answer, sucking thoughtfully on his eating utensil. After he'd finished his breakfast, he started noticing more and more weird things around him, like the men dressed in white. They looked a bit like the doctors, except their uniforms were a bit different and they were kind of acting strange.

"Yes…." Keroro drew out the consonants of the word, sounding rather unsure. He gave Fuyuki a nod and said it again. "Yes."

"Oh." Fuyuki put down his utensil. "Okay."

Men in black were one thing, but men in white? That was something else, and Fuyuki wasn't sure what to make of it. They weren't really doing anything troublesome… just watching people observantly, jotting something down into their notebooks every now and then.

Keroro paid them no mind. He resumed his breakfast as though this were a completely normal routine. Fuyuki's hands were shaking. The more he thought about it, the more creeped out he was. Why were those men here?—In _his_ house, the Hinata House? And what on Earth were they doing?

He looked around at his other friends, to see what they would do about it, but it appeared that Tamama and Mois didn't think anything of it, either. Nor would Momoka have, if she was there, but it was a Sunday, so she wasn't.

Fuyuki sighed and leaned back in his chair. It couldn't be that these men in white were a normal occurrence. Undoubtedly they had just brainwashed everyone in the house to think that. He would have to monitor them to make sure. As his eyes scanned the room to count all the men in white that he saw, they settled on another pair of eyes—yellow eyes, that were looking around, as well.

Fuyuki sat up in his chair and squinted across the eating hall. The yellow eyes belonged to a very buff man, rather intimidating in appearance. His body had a few scars here and there, especially a really grotesque one across his right arm—no, not a scar, he realized, squinting harder, but a dragon tattoo. Fuyuki recognized the man as someone from Group B that Tamama had pointed out the day before. And weirdest of all, he was looking around the room just like Fuyuki was.

Daringly, Fuyuki pushed his seat away from their table and began walking toward the dragon-tattooed man. When he reached him, he dropped his voice to a whisper and said, "I need to talk to you."

The man looked around a bit, then pointed a finger at himself and asked, "Me?"

"Yeah."

Two of the man's friends at either side of him, a younger-looking boy and a dull-eyed teenage girl, looked at Fuyuki, then back at the man. "What are you doing?" the girl asked.

He stood up anyway, and he walked with Fuyuki behind a large square pillar opening up into the hallway. The dragon-tattooed man leaned his arm against it and looked at Fuyuki calculatingly. "So what's your problem, kid?"

Fuyuki couldn't say how many times he'd heard _that_ question this last week. Instead of letting it bother him, he narrowed his eyes and cut to the chase. "Those men in white… you seem to be the only other person who notices them. And you're bothered by them, too."

The man paused a second, as if thinking, and then rubbed his hand over his head with a small laugh. "Can't blame a guy for not liking five sets of eyes on him all the time, eh?"

"Why are they here?" asked Fuyuki. "You must know…."

Dragon-man shrugged. "Maybe they just want to make friends and don't know how." Something about his tone made it sound awfully mocking of Fuyuki. He turned around, about to head on back to his table, but Fuyuki grabbed him by the arm and dragged him back.

"Wait! You have to tell me! What if they're—"

"Fuyuki, you shouldn't be meddling with that guy," a voice interrupted.

Fuyuki let go of the man's arm, and Dragon-man rubbed it, though he didn't leave. Instead the two of them turned to the blond man behind Fuyuki. The blond man had a bag slung over his shoulder, was dressed in tight grey clothing, and looked a bit tired, like he'd just come back from a workout at the gym.

"Oh… um…."

"What? Is there something wrong with me?" Dragon-man pushed Fuyuki aside and approached the blond guy's face in a way that would have been way too close to comfort for Fuyuki. The other man might have agreed. He frowned, the scar over his left eye wrinkling as he did so. His left eye had always bothered Fuyuki. It never seemed to focus quite right, and it had a little less color than his right one.

"Please step away, Yanda. I'd like to get past you so I can shout at Fuyuki."

Fuyuki swallowed. "Umm… no, that's okay, Corporal Giroro—"

Giroro's left eye, the one with the scar, twitched. "Fuyuki, I thought I told you not to call me that."

"Call you what, _Corporal_?" asked the dragon-man, Yanda.

Giroro's hand tightened around the strap of the bag over his shoulder. "You think you're so funny, don't you."

"I'm not an entertainer, _Corporal_."

Fuyuki would have said something, seeing Giroro get so angry, but he wasn't quite sure what was the matter.

"What's the matter, _Corporal_—"

That did it; Giroro lost his patience. Like a flash of lightning, his fist planted itself square into Yanda's face, sending the man into the closest table behind him.

The cafeteria fell silent. All eyes were on Yanda as he brought himself to a feet, swayed a moment, and wiped a bit of blood from his nose before lifting his fist in the air and shouting out, "Oh-ho, yeah, _now_ we're talking!" Then the cafeteria broke into chatter.

Yanda charged at Giroro and returned the punch. Giroro staggered for a moment, but brought himself back to a strong stance as he gripped Yanda by the shoulder and laid a blow in his gut.

"Woo-hoo! Give it to him, Giroro!" Fuyuki heard Koyuki yell from the crowd of chatter.

The two men grabbed each other's shoulder and began pushing. Yanda got Giroro against the pillar for a moment until Giroro pushed his foot against it and was able to move Yanda against another table. The patients who had been using the table for eating scattered. Yanda grunted, increasing his grip on Giroro's shoulders, and lifted his knee up, which he brought into Giroro's side, forcing him down. Giroro got back to his feet just as Yanda was brushing himself off and attacked him behind, sending them both to the floor, with Giroro having Yanda in a headlock. Yanda bit down on Giroro's arm, and he was forced to release him as he let out a shout.

Fuyuki's eyes darted all around. He didn't know what he should do. Nobody else seemed to be doing anything about the fight, and instead were cheering and betting, so maybe they had it handled.

When his eyes returned to the fight, Giroro's back was against the floor and Yanda was sitting on top of him with his fist balled, about to deliver a punch, when Giroro quickly flipped himself over and Yanda tumbled off. Fuyuki winced as he heard Yanda's jaw meet the hard floor of the cafeteria. When Yanda stood up, he did not look too happy. He glared at Giroro with a look of intense fury, and for a brief second, he glared at Fuyuki. Fuyuki, knowing what was better for him and what was not, darted behind a pillar and ran off to find his table group. It wasn't that hard to find because Koyuki was nearby, and she was cheering the loudest. Fuyuki quickly found Keroro and hid behind him, but when his curiosity got the better of him, he peeked out into the fray.

Now, Giroro had Yanda's arm over his shoulder. He flung him over onto the ground, where Yanda's back met with the cafeteria floor again, and more cheering broke out. Yanda flipped up and kicked Giroro back in the chest, and the cheering grew even louder. Giroro was looking sort of dizzy at this point, and he gripped the back of his chair to gain some balance. As he did so, Yanda entered in and fastened his hands around Giroro's neck. Giroro's senses must have snapped back into place because he immediately swung his arm up and freed himself from Yanda's grasp. Yanda stumbled out to the side, but the crowd pushed him back in. He swung a punch to Giroro's left, which he should have seen and blocked, but for some reason when he tried to grab Yanda's arm, he missed and grabbed air instead, ending up with a bruise on the left side of his face.

Yanda and Giroro now had their backs to each other and had fallen closer to the edge of the crowd. At the same moment, they both swerved around. Giroro yelled in rage and lunged at Yanda, and they both charged at each other, about to beat the other one senseless.

Suddenly, a group of mature voices halted the cheers and shouts and whistles. Adults dressed in white, black, and grey all pushed there way through to the scene of the fight, led into battle by a tall woman with a sparkling look to her. Her brown hair had streaks of pink in it and was wrapped into a bun in the back of her head, and the suit she wore had a clean, crisp look to it. She tapped her high-heeled foot on the ground impatiently with her arms crossed over her chest. Authority was all about her, but Fuyuki also detected a distinct air of friendliness.

"Giroro Hae! Yanda Rechi!" the woman scolded. She frowned, and her voice was filled with disappointment toward them. "Will one of you explain _what_ is going on?"

"If I had a gun with me, I'd kill you right now," Giroro threatened Yanda. He was immediately restrained by a team of doctors who pulled him to the ground.

Yanda began to laugh at him, which only made Giroro more enraged.

"Yanda," the woman said sternly. He just kept laughing. "Yanda!" The laughter didn't stop.

Seeing that it was of no use, the woman scoffed and walked over to the table where Yanda had originally been sitting. She picked out two younger kids and forced them to stand.

"Nubibi, Yue, how about you two explain some things."

The girl, presumably Yue, crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her other leg. "I dunno, and I don't really care. It's not _our_ problem." Her voice was bored-sounding and monotonous.

"Sorry for Yanda being such a trouble, though." The boy, Nubibi, bowed in apology.

"Nubibi, I just told her it wasn't _our_ problem."

"Oops. Oh yeah. Sorry!" He grinned sheepishly.

The woman looked displeased, but that expression quickly washed off her face and her lips returned to their original smile. Her eyes searched through the crowd again until they landed on Fuyuki.

_Uh-oh_, thought Fuyuki. He drew back, but the woman kept her eyes trained on him.

"Fuyuki Hinata." She smiled more, if that was possible. "What did _you_ see happen?"

The people in front of him parted, even Keroro took a step to the side, and now all eyes were trained on Fuyuki. He swallowed. He didn't know how this lady knew his name, and he didn't know what do to.

"U-um…. They were fighting," he stated.

"Fighting." The woman nodded and looked up slightly, pondering this word. She walked back into the large circle that the parted crowd had made for her. Her eyes settled on Giroro. "And is fighting _allowed_, in the Hinata House?"

Giroro avoided her gaze, looking downward with his mismatched eyes, but she just continued pacing.

"No. According to Rule #6 in the rulebook, acts of aggression or violence are not allowed. According to Rules #7 and 8, hugging is the _only_ physical contact allowed, which must be gentle and between persons of the same gender." She swiftly swerved around to face the two men once more, looked them in the eyes, and said, "Were you two hugging, or fighting?"

Yanda guffawed at the question, though Giroro said nothing.

"Tell me, Yanda, Giroro. When was the last time either of you hugged someone else, or was the recipient of a hug?"

Now the two of them were deliberately not making eye contact with each other, though the doctors tried to use their grip on their heads to make them face the woman.

She gasped and placed her fingers to her lips. "Neither of you can remember? Well, then. Yanda, Giroro, turn to each other and exchange a hug."

"_WHAT_?!" Giroro demanded.

"Are you _crazy_?!" Yanda screamed.

The crowd in the cafeteria snickered; apparently all of them had been waiting to hear a therapist asked that question by one of her patients for once.

But the woman just crossed her arms and tapped the sole of her foot on the floor, waiting.

The doctors loosened their grips on Giroro and Yanda and awkwardly pushed the two of them together.

"Well?" She smiled and waved her hand, urging them along.

Fuyuki held in his breath. Even he felt a bit embarrassed for the two of them. The silence was heavy and eyes were anxious. For a second they moved, but did nothing. The doctors around them exacted curt nudges at their sides. Standing together like that, Giroro and Yanda looked awfully uncomfortable. They both drew away from each other and glared at the woman before them.

"No hugs?" She pouted, the edges of her lips curling downward. "All right, then. Let's try something else. Giroro, Yanda, I want you to look each other in the eyes and apologize for hurting each other."

Yanda turned to Giroro. "Sorry that you can't take defeat, man." He clutched his belly, snickering at his own joke.

Giroro raised his fist. "Don't you dare laugh at me!"

"Giroro!" the woman scolded. She took hold of his fist and lowered it. "He wasn't laughing at _you_." The crowd in the cafeteria began to snicker, as well, and Giroro's face grew red. Whether it was from humiliation or anger, Fuyuki wasn't certain, but at least it made his skin look more like how it was _supposed_ to be.

She tsk-tsked. "You know that I thought better of you than this."

"Wh-what? What do you mean?"

She turned to the doctors and said in a cheery voice, "I think that Giroro and Yanda here might need a break in the Healing Room."

"What?" Giroro's knees began to wobble. Just when it looked like he was going to collapse, doctors came by on either side of him and took hold of his arms, and then did the same for Yanda. "Wait… you—you can't do this!" he yelled. Fuyuki could hear his shouting all the way down to the end of the hallway, where it began to fade, along with Yanda's unsettling cackling.

"Hey. Um, excuse me." Fuyuki nudged a girl in front of him. "What's the 'Healing Room?' "

The girl turned around, and Fuyuki resisted the urge to jump. It was Yanda's creepy friend, Yue, the monotonous-looking girl.

"Hm? The Healing Room?" She looked at him with a bored expression. "It's where you go if you're causing trouble. And by that I mean when the doctors and therapists get fed up with you. If you're quiet and don't make a fuss then you'll never have to go there."

"Oh." That was probably why Fuyuki had never heard of the Healing Room before. He didn't remember one ever being in his house, but at this point, he had decided to just stop questioning these things. "But… why did Giroro not want to go?"

"That's the thing," said Yue. She grinned a little, the only expression he'd seen—and probably ever _would_ see—on that girl's face. "They say it's on Floor 4."

* * *

After breakfast was Collective Group Therapy, and Fuyuki's group happened to be relaying the fight in the cafeteria to Pururu. Fuyuki wasn't really listening. He couldn't get his mind off of what bothered him the most—and it wasn't the fact that the Healing Room was on Floor 4, whatever that meant.

It was the men in white. During the fight, they hadn't stepped in to intervene at all. It was only when the doctors had dragged Giroro and Yanda off that they had put down their notebooks and pens for a brief moment so they could follow them down the hallway. Something about the whole scene sent chills down Fuyuki's spine.

Giroro still wasn't back yet from the Healing Room. Fuyuki kept glancing back at his usual chair, but it was always empty. Fuyuki kept lacing his fingers and unlacing them as he sat with his elbows rested on his knees.

Even afterward, in the room where he usually had Occult Club with Momoka, he still didn't know what to make of the scene at breakfast. All the words in the books he read himself to pass the time seemed to float off the page and drift into space with their meanings. Finally he could take no more of it and he shut the book closed.

"Ah! Fuyuki, you're done with your book." Keroro turned a Gunpla toward him. "I finished another Gundam model. How does it look?"

"It's great, Sarge." Fuyuki gave him an assuring smile. "Doesn't this feel a bit strange, though?"

"What, strange that everyone is doing art projects at the same time except for you?" Keroro scratched his head. "I'm sure that it would be."

"No, I mean…" Fuyuki shelved his book away and sat up. "…everything that's been going on. I don't remember my house being so… chaotic. But… it's like… chaotic, but not, at the same time…." He furrowed his brow. "What's that word… _controlled_."

Keroro was silent for a moment, but he smiled softly. "Look, Fuyuki… it wasn't your fault that Giroro and Yanda started fighting."

"That's not really what I was talking about, Sarge."

"Giroro's always getting angry all the time because of his short temper," he continued, ignoring the boy, "and Yanda is someone everyone could deal without." He sat back and clasped his hands behind his head. "But, of course, with guys like these, you can't do anything about them once they pick a fight with you."

"…Why not?" Fuyuki asked.

"Well, for one thing, the Rechi family is really rich." He thought for a moment. "So is the Nishizawa family, then again, but with both Momoka and Yanda their families don't really want any problems. For them or _by_ them."

"Wait, what? Momoka's rich?"

"And for another thing," he went on, "I heard that Yanda's danger level is 7."

"7?" said Fuyuki. "Out of what?"

"Out of 10."

"Is he an alien?"

Keroro laughed. "No, he's just a regular human."

"You mean Pokopenian."

"Pokopenian. Fine. But 7 is super high for a danger level. Mine is 2. Yours is 0."

"He's an alien," Fuyuki decided.

Keroro opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it and kept quiet.

Fuyuki was silent for a moment, too, until another idea entered his head. "Hey, Sarge…."

"What," said Keroro with a sigh. All these nicknames were getting tiring.

"Why is the Healing Room on Floor 4? I thought nobody was allowed to go up there because no one's come back."

"Ah, so you've heard the rumor."

_From you_, Fuyuki thought.

"I don't quite know why the Healing Room's up there. I've never been to it myself, you see. But I heard that the only way you can _get_ there is by an elevator. And the only way you can be in the elevator is if you have a key or if you're being taken to the Healing Room. If you're not in the elevator because you're being taken to the Healing Room, then you probably have a key because you need to go to the hospital on Floor 3 but you're too sick to take the stairs."

Fuyuki remembered going into the third floor in the evenings for doctor appointments. It wasn't that fun, but at least it wasn't exercise.

"But sometimes," Keroro told him, "someone sick who manages to get into the elevator gets a little too curious. And they go up to Floor 4." He stopped there.

"And?" said Fuyuki.

Keroro just shrugged. "I don't know. No one who's gone there on their own has ever come back."

_There's been a few patients, but none of them came back. Doctors and therapists have actually died up there_, Fuyuki recalled from their conversation yesterday.

It seemed he was learning new things about his house ever day. Whether that was a bad thing or a good thing anymore, Fuyuki wasn't sure.

* * *

By the time Separate Therapy with Garuru rolled by, Fuyuki's mind was temporarily taken off of the events earlier that day, but as soon as lunch time came, he was back in the cafeteria and spotted the men in white again. Natsumi was there to chat with him but he didn't feel like there was much to say with all the sets of eyes on him. He told her a bit about the fight earlier that morning, and Natsumi looked a bit disappointed that she couldn't have been a part of it but at the same time thought it was dumb how boys started fighting all the time.

"Well…" Fuyuki searched for something to say something in their defense. "The Corporal's got a really short temper. And he's always getting mad because the Sarge is always slacking off on the invasion. Don't you remember?"

Natsumi gave him a silent look.

Fuyuki dropped to a whisper so that the men in white couldn't hear him. "And I think Yanda's an alien, too."

"Is he, now." She let out a sigh and nibbled a bit on an apple, suddenly interested in a speck on the wall.

* * *

After lunch, Natsumi had to leave, which Fuyuki was always disappointed and a bit confused by. Another therapy hour followed with Bariri, which was extremely uneventful and boring, but at the same time, he wished it would drag out longer so that he could procrastinate on his least favorite part of the day: exercise.

But today's hour of exercise, when he reached it, seemed rather somber. Perhaps it was because Giroro wasn't there like he normally was. He should have been back by now, Fuyuki thought. But he wasn't.

Fuyuki didn't do much exercise that day. There wasn't really anything to be energetic about. Mostly it was because of the weird stuff happening that he didn't understand, puberty-unrelated. So instead of doing laps, or swimming, or playing sports games like everyone else was doing in the gym, Fuyuki distracted himself by reading all the papers taped to the windows and walls. Lists of Hinata House rules.

He'd seen them frequently; they were posted practically everywhere in his house, and every so often a doctor or therapist like the lady from earlier would repeat a rule or two. They confused him, though he figured he might as well take the time to read them just once.

Rule #1: _TREAT OTHERS AS YOU EXPECT TO BE TREATED YOURSELF_.

Rule #2: _COMPLY WITH YOUR SCHEDULE_.

Rule #3: _NO STORY-TELLING INVOLVING EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE_.

Rule #4: _NO POSSESSION OF DRUGS, ALCOHOL, OR WEAPONS_.

Rule #5: _NO POSSESSION OF ANY ELECTRONICS NOT PRESCRIBED BY A DOCTOR_.

The farther he got down the rule list, the more confused he became.

Rule #6: _NO ACTS OF AGGRESSION OR VIOLENCE_.

Rule #7: _HUGGING IS THE ONLY PHYSICAL CONTACT ALLOWED_.

Rule #8: _HUGGING MUST BE GENTLE AND BETWEEN PERSONS OF THE SAME GENDER_.

Rule #9: _NO PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION_.

Rule #10: _NO PRIVATE DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION_.

Rule #11: _NO EXCHANGE OF MATERIALS_.

Rule #12: _NO EXCHANGE OF FLUIDS_.

Rule #13: _VISITORS ARE ALLOWED ONE HOUR AT MAXIMUM_.

Rule #14: _PHONE CALLS ARE ALLOWED TO LAST FIFTEEN MINUTES AT MAXIMUM_.

Fuyuki's heart pounded as he continued reading downward. Forget confusing. This was downright frightening.

Rule #15: _MANDATORY CHECKUPS MUST BE PERFORMED ON PATIENTS EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES_.

Rule #16: _ALL ROOMS ARE SUBJECT TO SEARCHES AT ANY GIVEN TIME_.

Rule #17: _NO UNAUTHORIZED DEPARTING_.

He was sure his heart skipped a beat for a second there.

And finally, lingering at the bottom with a small specification of "unless supervised by a staff member," was the mystifying Rule #18:

_DON'T TOUCH FLOOR 4_.


	6. No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**So yeah, this chapter I wrote. I think you can tell because apparently there's a humorous creepy tone to it. You learn a bit more about the characters and all.**

**Reminder to please review, it really makes my sister happy. (And me) **

* * *

When Fuyuki finished reading the list, instead of feeling cold fear, a scream of shock erupted from his throat.

"NO!" It was a short, high-pitched scream, but it was enough to startle himself into falling backward into the pool that the men in white had chosen as the exercise location of the day.

The pool was only three feet deep, but it was enough to feel like an endless abyss to someone who couldn't swim. Once submerged, Fuyuki felt he might never get out.

"Are you all right?" Koyuki asked, easily pulling Fuyuki out of the water and back into the breathable air around him. He coughed up the water that had filled his lungs.

"T-thanks…" he spoke gratefully.

Koyuki smiled at him. "No problem. Maybe you should work on your grip and footing, though. You were thrashing around like a dead fish or something."

"You know I can't swim, right? That's why I was thrashing around. I was drowning," he answered seriously. Had Koyuki forgotten about his problem? Maybe she had, or Natsumi had neglected to tell her.

All Koyuki did was raise an eyebrow. "You were drowning in a three foot deep pool?" She shook her head. "Fuyuki… you need to get stronger. If you had been in my gang, you wouldn't have lasted a week."

"Gang?" Fuyuki was confused. "Don't you mean ninja clan?"

"Ninja clan?—Oh… you must be confused be thinking of something else. The Forest Ninja is just the name of our gang. We aren't really ninja." She gave a quick smile in a playful, friendly tone. "Sorry."

_She isn't really a ninja?_ Fuyuki's head spun. _What is she talking about? Wait… has she been lying to me this whole time about being a ninja? No… Lance Corporal Dororo is a ninja, too, so she couldn't be lying, because she taught him all she knows…. So she must be playing a joke on me right now! _he decided.

"Anyway, Fuyuki… why did you fall in?" Koyuki asked with concern.

"Oh…. It's 'cuz of that…."

Fuyuki pointed to the wall with the list of rules. Maybe Koyuki would be able to decipher how it got into his house, or perhaps, since she was in such a joking mood it seemed, she might be the one who put it there using her ninja tricks.

"Oh." She paused for a moment, "Yeah, you really have to train your mind and body to not be surprised by that. I mean, those rules are scary, but not in a terrifying, controlling way, but more of a '_Why would anyone think it was a good idea to have these rules_' way. You don't really have to worry about following them. I mean, I don't follow them, and D doesn't, either."

"Miss Koyuki!" Dororo popped out of the water to shush his friend. "Don't listen to her, Fuyuki. I only don't follow _one_ of those rules because the doctors here made a generous exception for me. They decided I would be much more helpful and kinder if they were kind in return. Isn't that a lovely philosophy?"

"They aren't that kind," Koyuki complained with a frown. "I mean, for some reason they don't like me climbing up onto the walls and falling down from the ceiling on top of them to ambush them!"

"I think you'll have to reexamine your statement to figure out the reason yourself of why they wouldn't let you do that," said Dororo.

"It just doesn't make sense! Isn't doing that to get breakfast normal? I don't understand!" she said. "They keep telling me to be more 'normal' even though I do the most normal things, like stealing all the keys to their rooms, and flying kites out into the yard!"

"I don't think they consider _putting_ yourself on a kite and trying to fly out of this place normal, Miss Koyuki," he said to her. "Although I honestly don't see why not, when all spirits themselves just wants to fly freely into the air and soar!"

"Yeah! I mean, isn't it normal to try to escape imprisonment on kites?"

Fuyuki carefully stepped between the two, while also making sure not to slip into the water. Again.

"What I meant is _who_ put this list of rules in my house. And, why are they trying to control me?" Fuyuki asked. "Th-this isn't normal…. Someone got into my house and is trying to take control over it." He thought for a second. "Maybe I should call Mom and tell her; she'd be worried…."

"You have a Mom?" Koyuki asked rather bluntly.

"Of course he does, Miss Koyuki," Dororo answered. "Everybody has a mother, even Mother Nature herself, whose mother is Lady Earth, who gave birth to all the plants and animals herself."

"Of course I have a Mom! You've met her, Koyuki!" Fuyuki insisted

"Th-he pink haired girl? But she looks awfully young…" Koyuki trailed off

"No! That's my sister. She's your friend but I don't need to remind you that. I guess you really are just playing a prank on me…." Fuyuki decided to stop questioning Koyuki about these rules; it wouldn't be the best to do when she was in a playful sort of lying mood.

Koyuki glanced at Dororo and looked away. "I don't have a Mom…."

Things got quiet and awkward fast.

"Well, uhhh…. Almost end of exercise period, huh?" Fuyuki checked his non-existent watch. "Got to be going, bye!" Waving, he ran out of the pool, only tripping a total of three times, each time caught by Koyuki, who was the one he was fleeing from. It was awkward.

Eventually, exercise period ended just as Fuyuki had predicted, and he was forced to head off to another therapy meeting with Pururu.

"So what happened today, guys?" Pururu asked. As usual, she sat facing Fuyuki and Mois. "I know I'm usually supposed to ask that as your therapist, and you both say '_Fine_,' and we leave it at that, but let's try a different approach." Pururu paused. "How about you tell me what happened today, and I explain what really happened."

Fuyuki paused. He didn't really like the way that sounded, but he trusted Pururu and might be able to get the answers he needed about what these rules were about. He could tell, though, that Mois was biting her lip to hold back some sort of response, probably to express her disinterest in doing that.

Fuyuki put a supporting hand on her shoulder as if to say, "it's all right, we can trust Pururu."

_I wonder why Mois isn't being secretive about Sarge's invasion plan of just pretending to be human too…. Was she just out of the loop, or does she not support it? _he wondered. He decided, though, that even if they were pretending to be human, he'd just have to play along to get the information he needed.

"Well, my day started like any other with those men in white taking my blood… for some reason." Fuyuki frowned. "Are they doing some sort of experiment? Like, getting my DNA so they can make my clone?" His eyes glowed in excitement.

Pururu turned to Mois and waited for what she could say about the event and her take on the matter. Mois just shrugged.

"I slept through the morning check-ups. You could say, the early bird gets the needle and I didn't want that?" Mois smiled.

"You need to have your health checks. How will the doctors know how to help your narcolepsy if you don't let them examine you?" Pururu asked. "And you, Fuyuki… those aren't men in white. They're just doctors. Doctors who want to help you."

"Doctors? Really?" Fuyuki tried to keep the anger and fear out of his rising voice. "If they really wanted to help, then why have they invaded my house and set up rules that imprison me here?" His voice was now urgent and shrill; he couldn't keep it calm. "Why so many creepy rules?"

"Because they're Pekoponians," Mois answered simplistically. A gloom fell over her face. "Some think stupidly that they're helping, but then they accidentally do bad. And some don't try to help at all, and just think only of themselves and keep sinning. That's just what Pekoponians do."

Pururu quieted her by giving her a scolding glare.

"Fuyuki, those rules were, in fact, put up by them… the staff. But they're only to help. If you want, we can go through them and I can explain each one individually," she ensured.

"If they're there to help, why didn't Mom or Sis tell me someone set them up in our house?"

Pururu gave Fuyuki a somewhat sad look.

"And if the doctors are there to help, and if mysterious things are happening on Floor 4, then why was the Corporal sent up there for fighting? I mean, all I've heard about this Floor 4 is 'don't go up there, it's dangerous,' but he was still sent up there."

Pururu stopped writing down notes and instead looked at Fuyuki in shock. "Giroro was sent up to Floor 4? They're not allowed to do that anymore!"

"Yeah, he was sent to this thing called the _Healing Room_. I don't remember having one of those." Fuyuki clutched his head. "Why's life gotten so weird lately?"

Instead of calming the boy, Pururu set her papers down.

"I'm sorry about this, but I think we'll have to cancel our therapy session for the day. I have to talk to Garuru. You two…. You two can go to your rooms or something and have some extra free time."

Before Fuyuki could question her anymore about the rules, Pururu was already leaving.

"Yay! More sleep!" Mois seemed to be the only one happy, and she immediately set off to do her favorite thing.

* * *

Fuyuki headed over to dinner, hoping to question the Sarge about these rules instead. Thinking about Keroro more, the answer about these rules seemed obvious: They had been set up by Keroro as a "take over the house" scheme. He would probably even deny this if Fuyuki asked him.

Instead, he instead decided to ask Tamama, who Keroro usually told his plans too.

"Hey, Tamama…" Fuyuki asked while taking a bite out of his food. "Did the Sarge set up all those rules that are hanging around my house?"

"Of course not! That seems pretty absurd." Tamama laughed. "I mean, Mr. Keroro _is_ pretty cool and all, but I don't think he'd be able to. It's the staff that does that."

"Of course I did!" Keroro said when he overheard the conversation. "My old job was to hang those things up. And they made me come up with all the rules, too, so I set up some cool ones."

Fuyuki must have heard something wrong because he could have sworn he heard Koyuki cough the word "liar" and then look at him with a twinkle in her eye.

Fuyuki would have questioned Keroro more about his confession of being the one who had set up the rules, but he heard Lieutenant Garuru's voice bellow through the dining hall instead before he could complete his thought.

"You sent my little brother WHERE?"

"Into the healing room…" one of the men in white—or was he a doctor?—sniveled. "I-I'm sorry that Miss Uru forgot he was _your_ brother. It won't happen again."

"It better not. Remember, Giroro's not supposed to be up there with that creep," he snarled. Yanda, Fuyuki guessed, though admittedly he wouldn't have used that word to define the guy on first impression.

"All right! Don't worry! He won't be sent up there again!" the doctor promised, shaking. "B-but I'm sure Mr. Hae's brother could take care of himself. He's tough like you."

"Darn right he's tough. A lot tougher than most of these doctors here."

When Garuru realized that the patients around him were listening to their conversation, he cleared his throat awkwardly and calmed down.

"We'd better take this outside. Don't worry, though; violence is something permeated by this institution." Pausing, Garuru whispered something into the doctor's ear. It must have been a threat of some sort, because the man turned white. Garuru then led him out of the cafeteria.

Honestly, even though Fuyuki should've been concerned by these rules all over his house, he was getting more and more interested in the occult legend that was Floor 4.

* * *

After dinner and seeing a couple more doctors, Fuyuki was sent to another collective therapy room. Giroro sat on a chair, waiting for the rest of the group.

"I see you've returned safely," Keroro smiled. Giroro growled at his teasing.

"Where'd you get that cut?" Tamama asked, pointing to a cut on Giroro's forehead. It was small, light, and didn't look like it went very deep.

He shrugged. "Must have been in the fight."

A therapist sat down in front of all the group. Fuyuki recognized her as the woman who had tried to make Yanda and Giroro hug earlier that day, the lady with the pink-brown professional bun and sapphire eyes. Her fair complexion served as a fine supplement to the makeup applied gently on her face.

"Hello, everyone!" The woman clasped her hands together with a cheery look on her face. "Sadly, Ingrid is sick today, so I volunteered to fill in." She beamed at them. "I'm Sai Uru, but you can just call me _Sai_. I'll do the same for you and call you by your name. Let's all be friends here, all right?"

She seemed so kind that Fuyuki felt inclined to trust her, even if she was just a normal human. Sai frowned at the awkward silence the group was giving off.

"Who wants to start?" she asked, sounding optimistic.

Nobody said a word.

"All right…." She clapped her hands. "If nobody wants to start, I suppose I will. Anybody want to sing a friendship song?"

Everybody (except Keroro) groaned, but none more so than Giroro, who sent a harsh glare her way.

"No? Very well, then. Ooh! I have an idea. Let's all take the time to learn a little bit about each other. We'll start from the beginning…. Beginning…. Roots…. Hmmm…." She tapped her foot. "I've got it!" She smiled, her genius idea taking place in her head. "How about we talk about the roots of your problems! Where it _all_ began."

Nobody seemed too happy by this idea.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, I've got all your roots right here in my little notebook." Sai Uru flashed them a pleasant grin.

"What about Patient Confidentiality?" Keroro finally asked.

"This will be a great bonding experience for all of you! Learning all of each other's problems. 'Patient Confidentiality' needs to fly right out the window for this exercise!" she proclaimed.

"Ahhh, like the bird flying out a window to feed its young…." Dororo had a spaced-out look on his face, obviously not being caught up with the conversation. Tamama glared at him.

"Koyuki. Koyuki Azumaya. Where are you?"

Sai looked around the room for Koyuki, as if expecting her to eagerly raise her hand for sharing time. Koyuki didn't. "Well, you're here because you've been raised in a gang all your life, and after being abandoned by those awful people, we decided to be your new family and raise you into being a normal girl! Kind of like the story of Pinocchio! Isn't that great?" Sai made herself frown. "Now do you want to talk about how lonely and betrayed you felt when they abandoned you? Or why you hold onto their strange, strange rituals when we only want to help normalize you?"

Koyuki's blinking eyes looked as if they were sputtering; she was at a loss for words.

"M-my gang… my _family_ didn't abandon me," she finally answered. "They just couldn't save me when the police came. It was my fault for not training hard enough. But in no way is this hospital my new family!"

Her body jerked slightly, as if to lunge, but Dororo's hand clamped onto her shoulder to keep her down. He gave her a reassuring look, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I know…. It's probably not worth it. I'll definitely be caught and be sent up _there_ and nobody wants that. I should pick the battles I can win…" she repeated, almost word-for-word like a lesson that had been taught to her.

Dororo nodded. "Striking in stealth is the best way. That is what you taught me, Miss Koyuki."

"Yay! You bonded!" Sai clapped her hands together. "Now, Tamama—"

Tamama's expression was happy and cheerful.

"I don't know your last name because you don't have any. And let's see… you're here for a bi-polar issue—"

Sai didn't get any farther than that.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY I'M BI-POLAR! IN NO WAY AM I BI-POLAR AT ALL!" he shouted. "TAMAMA IMPACT!" A light-energy flowed from his mouth and blasted the empty chair right next to her to smithereens.

She shook her head, disappointed in him. "Unfortunately ,yours is a genetic disorder that can only be helped with pills…. Uhhh, don't know what else to say about that…." She quickly turned to Keroro for the next assessment.

"I can tell you my root on my own if you want!" he volunteered.

"Oh, that's all right, Keroro. You're not really allowed to since on the file it says you're a 'compulsive liar.' Anyway, you started your problems after realizing how much guilt you held for damaging and hurting two of your childhood friends, eventually letting them end up here. Don't you know all that guilt can just go away if you just give them a nice big hug and tell them how you feel?" Sai asked.

"I… I didn't do anything…. I-it's not my fault…. I'm so…."

Keroro couldn't finish his apology and instead stood up. "I'm going to go build some Gundam." He left the room.

The team was one less.

"Dororo. Your root is trauma from being bullied and used by your closest friend, which eventually caused you to start a drug addiction. Do you want to talk about it?" Sai furrowed her eyebrows, giving him a cute, sympathetic look.

"I don't think I have a drug addiction." Dororo took out what appeared to be a small roll of paper as he spoke. "Just let your spirit be free. Trauma doesn't bother me anyway." He began to smile more than someone normally should.

Sai frowned and pointed to the door, holding her nose. Dororo left with Koyuki, who helped him out.

Two had left the group again.

"Now, Mois." Sai shook her head over and over again, trying to make sense of the next subject. "Your root—the source of your delusions—that was when you were caught in one of the world's biggest earthquakes! Three years ago you fell down a fissure and almost lost your life, causing you to be traumatized and have severe delusions," Sai stated. "Or that's the current theory, at least."

"HA!" Tamama let out a laugh.

"I caused the earthquake!" she claimed. "I didn't almost lose my life, I had complete control! If anybody was smart enough or were seismologists they would have seen that the source of the quakes were coming from that area and that my story was true!" Mois paused and spoke slowly, "I don't know why everybody is against me…. I just want to destroy your planet and everybody on it."

Fuyuki could have sworn he heard something similar earlier that evening.

"Re-examine what you said, Miss, and go to your room. Murder is always awful!" Sai pointed toward the door.

To her surprise, Tamama followed after her, probably to make fun of her some more.

Two more had left, leaving only Giroro and Fuyuki as survivors.

"Now Giroro…."

"Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it." He growled and narrowed his eyes. "Say it and I'll _rip your throat out_!"

"Don't be like that," she pouted. "It's best to face things, Corporal Grumpy."

_Hey, that sounds sort of like what I call him,_ thought Fuyuki, _sort of._

Giroro's hands tightened on the arms of his chair, and he made permanent nail-marks in the covering. "I thought there were _rules_ against you… against you saying things like that. Intentionally _trying_ to get me ANGRY at you!"

"You're among friends! It's all good!" She glanced down at the file again. "Giroro, you—"

Giroro punched her across the face.

"Ah!" She made a small scream and pressed her hand to her cheek, smearing some of her makeup. She slowly looked up at Giroro. "Mister… you're in _big_ trouble."

"Don't worry. I'll head up to Floor 4 on my own. It's still better than hearing what you have to say." Giroro marched out of the room alone.

"A-are you okay?" Fuyuki asked, getting closer to Sai. She was a nice girl and didn't deserve such a strong punch. Sai collapsed in a sofa, trying to rub her wound and not cry.

"N-no…" she sniffled. "Thank you, though, Fuyuki…. You're a nice patient…. You're the only one who appreciates me and my efforts to help all of you…." She paused. "I'll help you too…. You really deserve it."

Fuyuki was curious to what she had to say. He didn't have any roots; he wasn't a tree.

Sai sat up and gathered her papers back into a stack. "Now, let's see… your delusions started from after you saw your mother crash in a motorcycle accident."

Fuyuki froze. This lie wasn't very funny. But… at the same time, deep memories tried to surface at the top of his brain. He saw small flashes of things he didn't even want to see. They must have been memories of nightmares that he had had in the past—of his mother's smashed skull, some of her brain still against the pavement… and her palm facing up, her hand spread out slightly in a clutching position, just like she was sleeping… the hand being the only restful part of his mother.

Fuyuki began to shiver. He stepped away from Sai, and felt the wall come closer behind him. He began to scream from the images in his head.

"NOOO! That didn't happen!" Fuyuki clutched his head and scrambled out of the room, unable to help Sai's injury anymore. Running but avoiding the walls, he turned the corner and hid in his room, locking the door, hiding under a blanket and crying. Even if it was a nightmare, he didn't want to see that image.

His mother Aki was alive, she was just at work and would be home soon to play with Keroro and him.

The therapist was lying.

Everybody was lying to him and he didn't know why.

And with that, all the patients had been driven from the room by a single therapist.


	7. How It Used to Be

**So sorry this chapter was so late. And sorry for the weird error when I first posted. Scissors wrote this chapter.**

* * *

It was a full day until Fuyuki finally came out of his room.

Doctors and therapists tried to take him out by force, for his own good, but it was all in vain. At some point, Keroro offered his assistance, but that failed, too. When the doctors and therapists all left, Keroro sat down by Fuyuki's bed and placed a hand on the boy's back, not knowing what else to do.

Fuyuki was awfully quiet. Keroro took his hand of his back and realized from his soft breathing that he must have been asleep, or he appeared to be. It baffled him to see Fuyuki in this broken state. Normally, he was always the one who cheered everyone up, even if when he carried a number of problems himself. Keroro didn't know exactly what had happened that evening, or why Fuyuki had shut himself in his room, away from everyone, but it saddened him in a way, a way that was a little bit too familiar. It was a sickening feeling, worming its way into his gut and twisting around his heart. For an instant he thought he might suffocate from it.

So Keroro left the bed and read a manga instead.

* * *

On Tuesday morning, Fuyuki woke up as he normally would and resumed his morning rituals as though not a thing had happened two days before.

He had done a lot of thinking yesterday, when he had shut himself in his room. He thought a bit about why the Hinata House was changing in the first place. He realized something wasn't right—no—he realized that _nothing_was right. Everything was wrong. Every_one_ was wrong. And from this he could conclude only one thing:

A conspiracy had taken place—in his very own house.

He hadn't a clue why this did not cross his mind before; it was all clear now that he realized this—the strict rules; the tight schedule; the doctors, therapists, and men in white. They were trying to make Fuyuki forget his old life; and the more he thought about it, the more it all came back to him.

He remembered how Dororo and Koyuki were an inseparable ninja duo, how Dororo stood by his own rules and moral code, abandoning his platoon when goals and values clashed. How Koyuki and his sister were the best of friends; how Koyuki was an awful cook and how her rice balls always turned into cannonballs instead.

—"No, I'm pretty sure that I'm not a ninja," Dororo told him when Fuyuki asked.

All Koyuki said was, "What? You think my rice balls taste bad?"—

He remembered the smell of roasted sweet potatoes wafting from the backyard as Corporal Giroro tried desperately to weave a small plot that would temporarily get Natsumi and him closer together; how the stalwart soldier would constantly nag Keroro about the invasion and whip out the guns to destroy things if nothing got done.

—"What?" When Fuyuki spoke to Giroro, he looked confused and angrier than ever. "That doesn't sound like me at all. I've never even met your sister! …Though… I've seen her in passing…" His voice got quieter. "…and admittedly, she was kind of cute…." He realized he had accidentally said that out loud, and instead he glared at Fuyuki. "How many times have I told you not to call me _Corporal_?!"—

He remembered not being able to sleep some nights because the maniacal laughter of Sergeant Major Kululu, the most dislikeable guy, would be ringing from the depths of their house. How the smell of curry plagued his lab in the base; how he and Saburo teamed up to defeat various nefarious villains, whether from the inside or out.

He remembered how Tamama lived in Momoka's mansion, and how his addiction to sweets sometimes sucked out bags of money from her funds, how Tamama's unpredictable moods might determine the events that took place that day. How Momoka would help Tamama with issues he had with a new animal or Pokopenian friend of his. He remembered how Momoka would sometimes spend lots of money for… reasons which Fuyuki knew not. Whatever those men in white said about Fuyuki being delusional, he knew that they were wrong, because how could Fuyuki make up something like Momoka's confusing behavior toward him?

—"Momotchi buys me sweets sometimes because we're friends, but I don't live in her mansion," said Tamama.

Momoka frowned. "Fuyuki, why do you act stranger around me than you do everyone else?"—

But most of all, he remembered his close bond with Sergeant Keroro, a friendship that extended all the way to the cosmos, beyond the barrier of enemies. He remembered how the two of them ran away together in humid summer afternoons to walk around the suburbs and meet new people. How Keroro's alien stories brought disappointment, laughter, and important sentiments all together. He remembered their friendship and how real it was; he remembered all the things they did together. It was all real; he knew that it was.

Running these thoughts through his head again, it only made him see more how wrong it all was that Keroro and the others were pretending not to remember the times they had all spent together. This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't meant to be.

All throughout the morning he thought these things, stuffing it down further and further till he could take it no longer. Keroro's intricate invasion plot was getting tiring. He hated having to go along with everything, having to go undercover for his sister just to find out more about their plot. He hated how they were keeping quiet. At the same time… that meant… if the whole platoon was this dedicated to the plan, then it might come close to succeeding. If the frogs invaded, then what would happen to their Pokopenian friends? It was during lunch when finally, with strained frustration, Fuyuki practically barked to Keroro:

"How could you just ignore all the time we spent together?"

Quickly, he clamped his hands over his mouth. All eyes turned to him, as he had spoken out of nowhere, without having previously uttered a word that day.

"Fuyuki?" Keroro furrowed his brow. "What's the matter?"

Fuyuki hushed down and dropped to his knees so he could speak with him without other people listening. "I'm tired of your invasion plan, Sarge."

Keroro blinked at him.

"I hate how everyone has to act like I'm wrong about things for this plan to work…. I know that you want me to stay quiet, but…. Can we take a break, just for a small—"

"Fuyuki." Keroro placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. For just a small second, he looked off to the side. Then he leaned in and whispered, "Not here."

Those two words were said with such ease, with such undeniable certainty, that Fuyuki felt all the tension wash out of him right then and there. He smiled and looked Keroro in the eye gratefully.

* * *

"He is a strange kid, isn't he."

Nubibi observed the two from his own table, sucking on his yogurt spoon thoughtfully.

Ýue had her arms folded across her chest. "Not really. There are a lot of strange people here. After a while it stops being so surprising." She glanced at him. "You're new here, so of course you'd be interested in every single_mundane_ thing that happens."

"It's not every day that a kid comes screaming back from a therapy appointment."

"Here it is. People are always overreacting. Such drama…. It bores me."

"I could hack you into a million pieces and that would probably bore you."

"Ew, you're starting to sound like Yanda. He's boring, too."

Nubibi furrowed his brow. "Why do you think that he told him that?"

"Yanda told _who_ _what_, Nubibi."

"No, not Yanda. The guy in the frog hoodie. He told him 'not here.' Why do you think he said that?"

"I don't know. Because he's a liar?"

"Yeah, but…." Nubibi paused. "Have you ever thought for a moment that aliens might exist?"

"No. That's dumb, Nubibi."

"Here me out, I'm just saying. What if he was telling the truth?"

"Well, dishonest minds think alike." She shot him a dirty look.

Really, they did not know much. For the first time, Keroro felt guilty for not being truthful.

* * *

After Keroro was finished with his lunch, Fuyuki dragged him off to a place outside in the courtyard where nobody could here them talk. Fuyuki laughed and threw his arms around him thankfully. "You really _were_ with me all this time!"

Keroro opened his mouth, thought a moment, and said, "That's right, Fuyuki."

"Those men and white were wrong after all!"

"Um… no. You see, there _is_ no invasion plot."

That was something that Fuyuki didn't expect.

"No. There's… uh… a different thing going on. We're investigating a whereabouts of a dangerous alien here. And they're with me in this hunt."

"They… are?" Fuyuki looked confused for a moment, until he finally decided to believe Keroro. Usually he was an untrustworthy frog, but he had no reason to lie about something like this.

"Yes. They've actually been helping us _protect_ Ear—Pekopon."

"You mean Pokopen?"

"Same thing. Anyway, Fuyuki, they're actually working _with_ us. Not against us."

Another thing Fuyuki didn't expect.

"So—so they've actually been trying to help us all this time?"

"Yup."

"But then what do they mean when they tell me I'm just having _delusions_? Why would they lie to me like that, Sarge?"

Keroro was silent. No answer came to him; no shrug, no nod or shake of the head, nor anything.

"Unless…" Fuyuki's eyes widened. "…they're trying to… protect me from this alien they're investigating. By pretending that there _aren't_ any aliens! And—And they want me to pretend, too!"

Keroro put his face into his hand.

"But… who could this alien be…?"

All of a sudden, Tamama burst into view.

"Here's where you two were!" He put his hands on his knees, panting. "Come quick! Yanda's causing trouble again and you don't want to miss the action!"

* * *

Momoka

Of all things that had to go wrong that day.

Tamama had led them to the scene of crime, an area a little ways off on the other end of the courtyard. A few people were crowded around, but with the help of an angry, frightening Tamama, Fuyuki and Keroro pushed past.

On the weekends, Momoka was always gone. It being Tuesday, she was back again, and the fighting spirit was in her veins once more… or so it appeared, since she was standing in front of Yanda Rechi. Both of them looked angry and like they were ready to break the other's bones. Fuyuki was immediately frightened. He knew what the guy had done to Giroro; he couldn't stand for a second just the _thought_ of what he might do to Momoka.

"I'm just making a suggestion," Yanda was saying when they had arrived. "The kid's really no danger! Maybe you oughta put him in Group B instead."

"Why would you even…." Her eyebrows furrowed together and she looked downward, her fists quivering.

"It'd be easy. 'Specially for someone like you, Mistress Moneybags." Yanda grinned. "And then I could swap places with him."

"Yanda!" a kid cried from the side. Fuyuki recognized him as Nubibi, Yanda's friend. "Why would you want to leave us? We're so fun!"

"Yes, who could ever get tired of Nubibi," said Yanda's other friend, Yue, as she rolled her eyes.

"Sw-swap places?" said Momoka. "I don't have the ability to let you do that anyway, but I—I can't let you swap places with Fuyuki!"

A cold chill went down Fuyuki's back when he realized that they had been talking about him. What had he walked in on? Why was Yanda trying to switch places with him?

Yanda let out a hearty, craggy laugh. "The kid's got no danger level, though! Whereas, _I'm_ Level 7. So wouldn't it be fun to switch things up a bit?"

Momoka clenched her fists. "This isn't some sort of _game_."

"Oh, come on! He can be with the rest of the delusional kids and weirdoes from my group!" Yanda gestured to a table a little ways away, in which sat Asami and two pigtailed girls: one with glasses and a notebook, and the other who clutched a black headband in her hands like it was some precious artifact as she uttered the word "Daddy."

Fuyuki didn't want to leave Group A. That would mean that he'd have to part from all his friends… Keroro, Tamama, Momoka, Giroro, Dororo, Koyuki, Mois…. He couldn't get separated from all of them, especially not after Keroro had trusted him so much as to tell him that this wasn't actually an invasion plot.

"_You're_ the delusional one," Momoka spat, "if you honestly think that Fuyuki and you will switch places! Just—just do it yourself!"

With that, she began to walk off. From behind her, Yanda spoke, "Maybe I will, then," and she froze.

"What…?"

Yanda guffawed. "If only you could see the expression on your face!"

"Y-you can't do that," she objected.

"Or can I?" He raised an eyebrow. Just then, Fuyuki recalled what Keroro had told him a few days ago. The Rechi family was really rich. What if Yanda could actually swap groups with Fuyuki, just because he felt like it?

Fuyuki couldn't take it any longer. He couldn't watch from the side while Yanda talked about him and Momoka talked in his defense. He stepped out from the crowd.

"Yanda, I think it should be me who you're asking that question."

"F-Fuyuki!" said Momoka, a bit surprised. "Y-you were…?"

"Fukki! Don't be a hero!" Tamama yelled from the crowd.

Fuyuki did not listen. He planted his hands on his hips and faced Yanda bravely. This was about him, so it was his fight. He couldn't let people like Momoka get involved.

"Hm?" Yanda looked at him. "Kid, I can do whatever I want."

"No you can't," Fuyuki persisted. "Just because you're stronger… and tougher… and a bit more powerful than us… it doesn't mean that you can have any way you want!" He pointed a finger accusingly at him. "I know who you really are!"

Yanda looked surprised for a moment and took a step back.

"You're the alien that the men in white have been investigating!" he said. "The Sarge and the rest of his platoon will defeat you!"

Chatter broke out amongst the crowd. Faces turned to Keroro and Tamama, who fearfully began to back away.

Yanda only laughed at him. "Well, get me a towel, Alien Boy, because I think I just wet myself from fright."

From behind Fuyuki, Momoka swerved around and ran up to him. "How's _THIS_ for frightening!"

She leapt into the air, and Fuyuki watched a transformation take place. Momoka's bangs turned into spikes, and her pupils shrunk. She raised her fist and laid a punch right in Yanda's gut. He stumbled back, clutching his stomach, and stood back up. As he flexed his biceps, causing his muscles to move under his short-sleeved shirt, Fuyuki saw the dragon tattoo ripple.

Yanda lunged, about to attack Momoka, but Fuyuki darted out and pushed her out of the way. They both fell onto the ground together; Yanda just fell past the area that she had previously been standing on.

"F-Fuyuki…." Momoka stood up and brushed herself off. Her face was a bit red.

Yanda turned to them and growled. "That kid… keeps getting in my way."

"I can't let you hurt Momoka!" he said defiantly.

"Punk, I can do whatever I want!" He raised his fist. A familiar voice sprung out from behind them—"No, you can't."

Fuyuki turned around to see who it was; even Yanda did, too. Sai Uru now stood before the crowd, crossing her arms in disappointment of what was yet again a disruption caused by Yanda.

She shook her head. "Yanda, Yanda, Yanda. What is the matter with you?"

He was silent as doctors appeared at either side of him.

"I thought the Healing Room had _done_ something for you!"

His face paled. "You're not taking me there again, you crazy woman!"

_Yes,_ thought Fuyuki. _Take him there!_

Sai sighed. "Unfortunately, the Healing Room is out of service at the moment." She smiled. "However, we _will_ be taking you to therapy at once!"

Yanda made a groaning sound and drooped his head. As he did so, Fuyuki caught sight of something that he could have sworn wasn't there before—a small scar, right on his forehead. Yanda's head lolled for a moment, then raised again, eyes locked on Fuyuki.

"Just you wait, Fuyuki Hinata. Soon you'll think twice about standing in my way." His lips peeled into a sneer. "And when I'm done with you, say hi to your Mom in Hell for me, won't you?"

Fuyuki's legs started shaking. _How does he—Who told him that lie!_ A cry emitted from his throat and he fell to the ground. Momoka sat down beside him, her hands on his shoulders so she could help him breath.

"Mister Yanda Rechi." Sai's mouth was gaping open. "You are _not_ allowed to trigger other patients!"

"Hypocrite," someone scoffed from the crowd. Fuyuki shakily tilted his head up and spotted Giroro.

"Why would you say that, Giroro?" said Sai with a pout.

"He's just bitter against me, too," Yanda put in.

Giroro glared at him. "Do you _want_ me to rip your throat out? Because I will. Trust me, _I will_."

"Violence is not permitted in the Hinata House!" she warned him. "This is supposed to be a peaceful pla—"

"Peaceful?" Giroro laughed at the idea. "This is an insane asylum! The richest one in the country! And yet everyone shoves the most dangerous people here. That's why we have guys like _him_!" he gestured to Yanda. "That's why we can never get rid of _him_!"

"Well, then, we just need to find a way to work with each oth—" Sai closed her mouth. "Oh… you weren't just talking about Yanda, were you…."

"This is crazy. This whole place is crazy," Giroro snarled.

"G-Giroro, you don't have to—" Fuyuki tried to get him to stop, but his head was overtaken by another shudder, and his body curled into a ball.

"Oh, Giroro," said Sai. "I'm sorry that you think that. You won't always have to think that, though. Soon, you'll get bet—"

"Get what? Get better?" He narrowed his eyes at her, and his scar wrinkled. "I am never going to let myself get better! The only people here who _want_ to get better are idiots! Not even Yanda wants to. You can't get us to bow to the authority of the enemy. I won't. No one here will."

"Giroro, we're not your enemy—" she tried to insist.

"I! DON'T! CARE!" he yelled. With that, Giroro stomped off.

The whole courtyard was silent. Never before had Fuyuki seen someone that angry for what appeared to be no reason at all. Giroro had a problem that needed to be solved. Maybe the therapists were right. You couldn't get better unless you accepted the help. Why wouldn't Giroro want to get better? …Did Yanda not want to get better too? It would have explained his behavior, certainly.

For a painful moment, Fuyuki moved his eyes back to Yanda before he had to lower his head again.

* * *

Later, after lunch, and after Fuyuki could go back to standing up properly and thinking straight, Momoka, Keroro, and Tamama helped him walk through the hallways. Fuyuki decided finally to ask what was on his mind.

"Why would someone not want to get better?"

The other three were silent for a very long moment. Momoka finally started to say something, but so did Keroro, and both of them shut their mouths at the same time. There was silence again for a moment, until Keroro decided to speak.

"Some…. Some people… they don't have anything, you know?" He looked downward. "Maybe no family… no friends… no Gundam… no anything. It's a bit sad… don't you think?"

Tamama's eyes were red. Even Momoka didn't look completely okay.

"So if they don't have any life waiting for them outside of the Hinata House…then they don't really have a reason to try to get better."

Fuyuki thought about that. It was a shame that Giroro evidently had something wrong with him, and even more of a shame that he couldn't fix it. He was sure that those men in white would help him, though. Or therapists and doctors, if that was what they were called. After all, people like those were here to help—just as they were helping Keroro and his platoon investigate that dangerous alien.

Fuyuki had no doubt in his mind that the identity of that alien was Yanda.


	8. Who Will Help Me Be an Individual?

**Disclaimer: Still do not own anything.**

**If there's anything non-respectful about the story, I would like it if you please point it out so I can fix it.**

**Um...Sorry I took such a long break. This is a collab story and it was my turn and all, but I dropped the ball and procrastinated. I will try to get things running again and try to prod my sister into getting things running again.**

**On that note, I'm sorry for the long wait! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Fuyuki would work with the men in white. That was something he decided that day after what Keroro said.

_"Some…. Some people… they don't have anything, you know?" Keroro looked downward. "Maybe no family… no friends… no Gundam… no anything. It's a bit sad… don't you think?"_

Some people didn't have anything. He knew what Keroro had meant by that. The men in white who were working with Keroro didn't have anything.

He needed to help them. To figure out their agenda. And even if he needed to pretend for a moment that he was sick, he'd do it.

After all, that was what going undercover was all about.

* * *

"Do you think... maybe we should try struggling less against the men in white?" Fuyuki made an attempt at peace with Keroro.

There was another theory to this man-in-white business, another theory that he hadn't thought of. _Mind control_.

There might be a possibility that they weren't working together with Keroro; Keroro just thought they were.

"Of course we should!" Keroro smiled, giving more evidence to Fuyuki's theory. "But... s-sometimes... even the therapists can't help... sometimes you have to do something for yourself, too. 'Cause when you're out of here, you're on your own," Keroro reminded him. "Especially if you're an adult like me."

Fuyuki must have imagined the waver of fear in the older man's voice.

"That's too bad. But I'm sure you'll make it just fine, Sarge!" he tried to encourage him.

Keroro brushed off the comment as soon as Fuyuki said "Sarge." "I sure hope so."

* * *

Fuyuki let the men in white take his blood. He even smiled at them and pretended like they had always been there.

_Even if they're doing mind control, they still have personalities and hearts. After all, there was a time Sarge was evil, and now he's my best friend,_ he reminded himself. He remembered the day fondly when he and Keroro had first bonded.

His doctor smiled at him. "You're being so good, Fuyuki. Thank you for your time."

"No problem!" he said.

* * *

Group therapy was with Pururu, which was easy enough.

_Should I pretend here, too? _Fuyuki wondered. He decided, yes. It would be best to get the whole facility to believe him. Even Pururu. She might have been in on the whole mind control thing.

Pururu always took up a friendly tone with her patients. "Did anyone have any interesting dreams?"

"I... I did!" Keroro raised his hand.

"All right, Keroro, and what happened in it?" she asked.

"Well... there was a Gundam model... And I had it... And that's it. Sorry, I forgot my dream," Keroro lied.

_What's with the Sarge? _Fuyuki wondered. He seemed more fidgety and worried than normal.

"Very interesting... Okay, next up?" Pururu asked.

"Ohh, ohh! I dreamed about flowers!" Dororo's participation in group activities were all the same.

"I dreamed about... going to school." Fuyuki accidentally cut him off, which was pretty normal for Dororo.

_I actually dreamed about aliens, but I can't tell her that. Everybody seems really weird, for some reason, when I mention aliens. I have to pretend like they don't exist. For the men in white._

Pururu was mildly surprised. Whenever they talked about dreams, Fuyuki usually mentioned aliens. "What did you do at school, Fuyuki?"

"Um... well, Momoka was there, and we were in our club... I mean, I was in school, just doing normal work." Fuyuki put his hand on his face, embarrassed. He had messed up. He had mentioned his club, which was an Occult Club that dealt with aliens and the paranormal.

"Oh. Ummm…. It's that sort of dream…. That's why you changed topics pretty fast…. Well, that's normal for boys your age…. You don't need to share that kind of dream, okay?" she pleaded. "I've heard too many of Tamama's already."

"Huh?" Fuyuki looked up, confused. Momoka had turned bright pink, and Tamama and Keroro were both giggling together. "Huh?" _Wait. Wait! A minute! Did they think that I had a dream… about kissing Momoka or something? _He panicked and waved his hands in the air. "I don't think about kissing her!"

"Meeting dismissed early," Pururu decided. She needed to save Fuyuki from himself and his embarrassment.

Momoka stood there for a moment, blushing, about to say something, but instead darted off, unable to speak.

* * *

It took a few moments for Fuyuki to recover. He eventually got out of his seat and headed outside.

Once outside, he overheard Keroro's voice. "My dream wasn't actually about Gundam, Pururu," Keroro was saying from inside.

"Do you want to talk about it? We're alone. And that's why I'm here... to help." Pururu's voice was cheery and optimistic.

_Huh? What is it Sarge needs? _Fuyuki tried not to listen in, but he did.

"It was a nightmare. About all the times I was let out of this facility. I-I'm just worried… I always seem to end up back here… I don't know how to function outside. Is that going to happen again? Am I going to be trapped here forever?" Keroro wanted to know. His voice sounded like it was tearing up.

"Of course you aren't! There are programs we can enlist you in to help organize your life and future outside of this facility. We'll help you the best we can, Keroro," she told him.

"Th-thanks..." Keroro's voice was breathy, as if he was at the point of tears. "It's just... I don't want to be here all my life. I know that's hard to believe. I might not have much on the outside, but I still want freedom... from here... and myself..."

"We'll get you the help you need. Don't worry," Pururu promised him.

Fuyuki heard footsteps as she lead Keroro away to her office for an emergency conference.

_Sarge... needs help? _He almost felt his willpower faltering, his suspicion and distress against the men in white fading. If the men in white were here to help Keroro from his own problems, then that was a different matter entirely. _I... I didn't even know the Sarge had such fears and issues... I'm not a very good friend if I didn't see that. _Fuyuki clenched his fists.

They _all_ wanted out of his house, didn't they? They just wanted their freedom back from the men in white.

And maybe his theory had been wrong, maybe the men in white were there to help, not to control minds.

Maybe they were his friends, too.

Fuyuki suddenly had a strange thought in his head.

_Maybe I should start listening to them. For Sarge. So that I can help him. _Keroro was more important than any of this, after all, and him unraveling the mystery of the strangers in his home.

Even if Keroro wasn't an alien, Fuyuki knew he'd still have met him, and they'd become best friends.

Maybe what he needed was not to convince the men in white that he was doing well, but to convince everyone else to help the men in white… because the men in white had the potential to help Keroro.

* * *

On his way to lunch, he saw Giroro yelling at one of the men in white, the one named Sai.

"Stop it! Just stop trying to do whatever you're doing! I know it's not helping after all, because if it is it's pathetic," he growled.

"Giroro... it's good to talk about your feelings, but perhaps... expressing anger is the problem. Try to act like a gentleman," Sai begged him. Giroro slapped her wrist away.

"OW!" Her eyes teared up.

"Giroro! Hey, Giroro, stop!" Fuyuki told him, getting between him and Sai.

"I've been told not to send you up to the Healing Room again, but I can revoke your dessert privileges for that strike!" Sai threatened, trying to be mean, but only coming off as hurt. "But I won't. I want to be your friend, not your enemy."

Giroro looked between Sai and Fuyuki and sighed. "Whatever. I won't hurt another prisoner here," he decided, and walked away.

As soon as Giroro was gone, Fuyuki turned to Sai. "You okay?" he asked her.

"Yes! Thank you, Mr. Hinata. You're just as nice as I first thought you were!" she smiled. "I wish I could give you a gold star."

"I think the stars should go to the Sarge, not me," Fuyuki laughed. Sai laughed with him, but she didn't know what she was laughing at.

"Want me to walk you to lunch? I'm one of the therapists on duty to make sure everyone remains safe during lunch," she told him.

"Sure!" Fuyuki realized that Sai was nice. _My mind control theory was totally off, I guess. She's a sweet person._

* * *

Fuyuki entered lunch looking for his friends. He had about thirty minutes before Natsumi would arrive. It was a Friday, and she had promised to see him.

For some reason, he didn't see her much during the weekdays, except today, because there was no school at the moment or something. Was she that busy with school and clubs?

He had a different job than worrying about Natsumi: getting the rest of his friends to trust the men in white so they could aid Keroro in his treatment. Keroro seemed to need this.

_It's true he's got a hoarding problem. Maybe these guys are Keronian therapists who want to help us with our problems or something? I can trust them then, _he decided. "Hey guys!" He sat down next to Tamama with his lunch.

"Where's Mr. Sergeant?" Tamama asked. He really enjoyed the cool nickname Fuyuki had told him about and used it all the time.

"Conferencing with Pururu." Fuyuki shrugged. "Anyway, I wanted to talk to you guys about yesterday…. Do you ever want to leave this place?" _They probably want their own homes instead of mine. _"What I mean to say is, do you guys want to get better?" _I know that Giroro sure doesn't want to._

"You mean... get healed?" Momoka corrected. "Of course I do. I have a job to do to someday. I have to take over the Nishizawa company! For that, I have to be in _perfect_ condition."

Tamama bit his lip. "I... I don't know. I like it here. with Mr. Sergeant."

"You could always travel with Sarge when you're better. Or recover with him," Fuyuki suggested. Tamama gave a smile, thinking of it.

"I want to get out. But I don't trust any of these people here," Koyuki admitted. "They're saving the wrong things."

"Maybe it's time to trust them then," Fuyuki suggested. "Maybe it's time to be nicer to Sai Uru. She's a nice person. I don't think she means anyone harm."

Koyuki frowned. "What do you mean? Sai Uru's the worst."

"Accidents might happen, though. If Sai means well, that means something in its own right. Caring can be its own reward," Dororo spoke. "And, of course, _I_ want to get better. It's just... harder than that…."

"Try for somebody else, then. Try for somebody you care about," Fuyuki suggested.

"Hmm...? I will try for Lady Koyuki, then. I really will. I don't think I've ever heard that advice before," Dororo admitted. He looked down into his cup, wondering if he could get through his drug addiction if he thought about Koyuki instead.

"Yeah! I think we should really listen to the therapists!" Fuyuki smiled, trying to start something.

Sai watched from a distance, beaming.

"No way." Giroro was the first one to deny this.

Mois agreed with him. "I don't really want to. They're completely wrong. And, you could say, I don't like them!They're just Pekoponians, after all. Pekoponians who think they're always right."

Fuyuki frowned. Mois might ruin Keroro's recovery with that attitude, yet at the same time, he partly agreed with her, and he was happy that she was the only one who seemed to remember about aliens.

"Look... Mois..." Fuyuki went into a whisper. "I know things are going weird, but maybe you could just... pretend to listen to them? I mean, they're wrong about the whole alien thing, but maybe if we help them, they'll help us, like through the Sarge or something else…. I mean, is there something you want from them? There must be something that could be an incentive to you for listening to them…." He trailed off.

"Th-there is... I suppose..." she admitted.

"What is it?" Fuyuki wondered what important person she was thinking of.

"My cell phone! They took it from me when I came in here. If I finally left, they'd give it back... I need my cell phone." Her hands were fidgeting, as if needing to grab the piece of technology she described.

Tamama giggled. "She's addicted to texting is what I heard."

"But I thought that her cell phone was her weapon of mass destruction—"

"Shhh!" Mois put a finger to her lips, trying to keep on-topic. "I suppose I can try your plan…."

Fuyuki beamed. "What about you, Giroro? Do you want to try to get better with the rest of us?"

"No way. I'll never want to be better. And I'll fight the system with everything I have," he vowed. "It's an awful place…." He hissed and took his lunch to leave the table.

Fuyuki frowned.

"Wow! I see that all of you are bonding!" Sai approached them, having listened in on some of their conversation and their new idea to get better and to try. "I think this deserves something. Who wants to go outside and do some flower therapy? I'll watch over you, and we can go in the very protected garden!"

Everybody raised their hands except Fuyuki. They all seemed to want to do something more interesting than being cooped up.

_I have to see Sis. I have to stay. _He watched them all go, hoping that they'd have fun.

And he waited for Natsumi.

* * *

Fuyuki ate his lunch in peace, until Natsumi came in.

"Sorry, I'm a bit late. There was a flood and it was hard to get here…." She was impatient and in a rush. That was why she didn't notice where she was going and accidentally stepped on Giroro's foot.

"Ow! Look where you're going, idiot!" he hissed at her. "You shouldn't just step on people's feet. Clumsiness could get you killed if this was a war."

"Are you calling me an idiot? You're an idiot! This is no war!" Natsumi shot back. "And it was an honest mistake. I'm not clumsy!"

"I think 'mistake' means you're clumsy."

"Oh yeah, well you're—!"

They began verbally fighting, seeing who could throw more insults at each other.

Fuyuki looked around for help, but everybody seemed to be gone. Nobody was looking at them.

_They're acting like they just met. What the heck is going on? _Fuyuki wondered.

"I admire that you don't back down, soldier, but apologize for your clumsy feet!" he yelled, practically acting like a child now.

"Never!" Natsumi yelled back, her anger just as high as his own.

"Look, just because you're attractive doesn't mean you can get away with whatever you want," he told her. "You're as stupid and naive as your brother."

Nobody was looking, so Natsumi slapped him. "Don't you dare talk badly about Fuyuki. And don't talk about things as if it's a war! It's not. And if it was, I would just kick your butt, anyway," she threatened.

Giroro stood frozen, in a daze, pressing his hand against his cheek.

"Y-you weren't slapping to kill..." he said for a moment.

"Of course I wasn't. I wanted to defend myself from your insults. I'll use my fist next if you dare insult me again," she growled.

"You... have a fine warrior spirit." He tried to get back on focus.

"Um... whatever." She didn't really know what to say, and instead sat down by Fuyuki.

He noticed Giroro staring at his sister the rest of the hour while he talked to her about the men in white and how he was now going to aid them.

Fuyuki smiled._ I knew he was still in love with her._

When Natsumi got up for a bathroom break, he turned to Giroro. "Remember what Sai said. Maybe you should act more like a gentleman and she'll like you. I'm sure Sis will," he encouraged.

For a moment, Giroro glared at him, refusing to consider his words. Then he thought a moment and sighed.

"I don't want your sister to like me, Fuyuki. It's just... I admire her warrior spirit. …I haven't met anyone else with anger issues in here that I could possibly get along with…. She's nice. Especially to you," he noted.

"Yeah!" Fuyuki smiled.

"But that's not saying anything like I'm in love with her! No, I'm in no way in love with her. I can't fall in love after one hit. It doesn't happen like that. I do not love your sister." Giroro suddenly started talking about his feelings for Natsumi and blushing.

"Sure... I know that you like her, it's all right," Fuyuki smiled.

"No. Repeat after me. 'Giroro is not in love with Natsumi. He does not admire her warrior spirit so much that he thinks she's the most amazing warrior princess he's ever met. He does not think she is cute or attractive and he is not thinking about her right now.' " Giroro told the boy. Fuyuki just giggled a moment.

As soon as Natsumi got back into the room, Giroro offered to get her a pudding from the snack bar and suddenly pulled out her chair to help her get a seat.

"I-is... Is he acting weirder than he normally does? Or is this just how he acts when people kick his butt?" Natsumi asked.

"It's just for you, Sis," he told her. "Just you."

Giroro totally liked Fuyuki's sister. And that made him happy.

* * *

Fuyuki tried to do his best throughout the rest of the day until evening group therapy. He was especially happy to see Sai again, since she seemed to be pretty nice.

"Hey!" she smiled. "Today we'll be talking about dreams, or your dream for the future. What do you want to do once you are out?"

Giroro squirmed in his chair, still not liking group therapy. And having declared that he would never get better, this made for an awkward conversation for him.

"Momoka? You got anything?" Sai turned to the rich heiress.

"I'm going to take over the Nishizawa company," she remminded everyone.

"That is a lovely dream! You've just got to heal up from your issues and then erase them from your records, and everything should be fine!" Sai smiled.

Momoka frowned at Sai, who wanted her to hide her issues from the world.

"Tamama?" Sai asked, trying to be closer to them to build trust.

"I want to travel the world. AND ALSO EAT EVERYTHING," he declared. The conversation seemed light and happy. Everybody liked talking about getting out.

"What about you, Keroro?"

"I would like... to get a job and be good at it... and function well on my own," he admitted. "Maybe also have a bunch of Gundam models, I don't know."

"Functioning by oneself is a good goal, but you don't need to have it by yourself. You could always find a nice girlfriend to help you." Sai smiled vapidly. "What about you, Koyuki? I'm sure you have a lot of dreams for the outside."

"I want to find my gang again and rejoin up... but I suppose I also want to travel with Dororo. Soul mates have to stick together, you know?"

"I agree. All I wish for the outside world is to be with Koyuki." Dororo smiled at her. "Nothing else matters."

"Ah... young love is sweet. What about you, Fuyuki?" she asked. "I know your goal is probably nice."

He shrugged. "I suppose I just want to be with my Mom and Sis."

"But Fuyuki, your mom is-" Sai was cut off by Keroro shaking his head.

"Don't say _anything_," he ordered. Sai grew quiet. Then she turned to Mois.

"Mois? We don't know much about your real goals. Do you want to model? To sing? What is it you want to do?" she asked, trying to be nice.

"Destroy the—I mean..." Mois thought a moment about a lie to say. "I like, don't know, I guess I'm just a normal Pekoponian—I mean, _human_. I have, like, no idea." Sai made a tick mark on Mois's record. Her lies had not been convincing enough.

"What about you, Giroro?" Sai asked.

"I don't want to get out. I'm stuck in here my whole life and I'll never get better. You'll all keep me in here because you believe I'm dangerous," he hissed.

"So there's nothing you want on the outside? No occupation? No dream house? Nothing you want to eat? No girl you want to see?" she asked. Giroro continued glaring at the therapist until she mentioned girl.

"Ummm..." He blushed for a moment, "N-no... And it's not like I could do any of those things."

"Of course you can!" Sai smiled, standing up. "You can get out if you prove the treatments are helping you and that you're not dangerous. If you stop punching things and refusing to participate in discussions, you can make a difference."

Giroro frowned. "But... I can't do that…."

"If you think about someone important, you can," Sai came up with. It was totally original. "Everybody, think of somebody important to you as your motivation."

"R-really?" Giroro asked. "I... I suppose... I'll try..." He blushed.

"Yay! So who's the girl you're thinking of! Is she on the outside? The only way to be with her, then, is to get better and be equals!"

"I…. I know…. I know." Giroro didn't answer who she was. "So what's the next bit of conversation we're going to discuss? I'm ready to participate."

Sai smiled and gave him a hug. It took everything in Giroro to not punch her off.

_Just think of my sweet warrior princess..._ he told himself, remembering the way Natsumi had looked at him with those infuriated eyes, ready to defend her brother and herself at whatever cost.

He'd get out. And in the meantime, he'd do exactly what Fuyuki and Sai said. He'd somehow impress her and apologize.


	9. Dragons Breathe Fire

**All right, after nearly a year and a half I have finally updated this fic. I was waiting on my sister to continue her chapter because I didn't know what to do with Yanda, (Her character that she added) but she has lost motivation on this story. However I still believe this story has merit and have decided to continue it.**

**Perhaps this was the best choice, after all, my sister doesn't know of the experiences in a mental hospital but I do. Although those experiences are five years behind me now it's still good to write about them. My experiences today mostly date with being isolated in physical hospitals for extreme cases of illness and dehydration sort of things, which probably won't come up in this story, but who knows?**

**I'll try to keep the chapters to 2000 words, but idk. No pressure for it to be longer. **

**Special author's note regarding Tamama- Since all the sgt frog characters are going to exhibit signs of mental illness in this fic, and Tamama as mentioned in this fic and the anime I believe is bipolar, I am going to try to make him seem more, well, actually bipolar. I realize now that my previous depictions of him in this fic weren't accurate of the mental illness, especially since the last update I've become more familiar with the disorder and it is extremely different than how the anime and media describe it- what Tamama is experiencing in the anime is something I like to call "Anime bipolar" which has extreme violent mood swings in a matter of seconds that doesn't seem...accurate...?**

**I'm going to try to make his illness a bit more accurate.**

**Anyway, sorry for not updating wingman in a while. I will get back to it, I just left off in the middle of the chapter and need to get back to being in the swing of writing.**

**I hope the chapter is okay even though this story will mostly be controlled by me now and Yanda isn't really a character I feel any sort of attachments too.**

**So basically all in all- this story will no longer be a collab. Scissors also didn't want to edit grammar because and so I quote, "There's too many mistakes."**

* * *

A few weeks had passed since Fuyuki attempted the whole 'normal' routine thing; pretending to go along with the men in white. At first things had been hard, but also exciting. It was like he was some sort of super spy keeping a secret with his best friends in the world, the keronian aliens. He just had to pretend like they were all normal humans so Keroro could become happier. He wasn't sure why Keroro needed these men in white to help him over his best friend, but Fuyuki wasn't the type to be jealous.

All that mattered was that whatever was bothering Keroro would be fixed. That someday Keroro would be able to do this 'function normally' thing that he was so concerned about.

The exciting buzz of keeping the secret of aliens eventually faded away though, it became something numb and cold as Fuyuki just got by in the facility on a day to day basis as if time itself wasn't much of a thing. Pretending that aliens didn't exist went against his very being. He wasn't Fuyuki if he wasn't curiously prodding into undiscovered alien territory.

And so he become like the Fuyuki that had existed in that facility for a while, who continuously forgot that he was in the Hinata House. All he remembered was his friends. And pretending to be better drove him deeper and deeper into sickness.

Only one thing really broke him out of his numb state, and that was seeing Giroro act 'normal'. He had always said that Giroro was madly in love with his sister, but as Giroro's crippling crush got worse and worse Fuyuki felt like things were slowly getting less weird. More normal. It eased his mind to see his sister interact with an alien.

"What are you looking at?" Giroro asked gruffly as Fuyuki beamed in the cafeteria.

Fuyuki awkwardly looked away, trying to hide that he was snooping on his sister's conversation with Giroro. For some reason the two of them had been discussing potato recipes. Not the most tactful and smooth way to win a girl over, but Natsumi had seemed cheerful. And it had been a great improvement from talking about heavy weaponry. The therapists had taken away Giroro's privilege to talk to visitors for three days when he had that conversation with her.

"Ummm..." Fuyuki swung his hands around and randomly pointed to someone else in the lunch room. The man with the dragon tattoos- Yanda. "Him! Who was he again?" He had forgotten. The numb feeling of pretending and not caring about anyone else except aliens had made him forget about Yanda's presence in his life. Yanda's name simply was just not weird enough to be morphed into an alien's name. There was no keronian name Yadada. Sounded too much like yada yada.

Giroro gave a hearty laugh. "That jerk Yanda Reichi. Thinks he's the best thing ever, remember? The who was he again line is reserved only for Dororo." He reminded.

Fuyuki laughed at that, smiling that things were becoming more normal. It was a joke at Dororo's expense.

Dororo in the background wasn't too pleased. He had been trying to keep off of the drugs but it didn't help when he was realizing just how sad his life really was. "I'm...I'm memorable..." He said quietly to himself.

Koyuki placed a friendly hand on his arm, giving him a sweet look. "It's all right. I'm here for you."

Dororo shyly smiled. If it was for Koyuki's sake he'd try to calm down.

Fuyuki oohed as the memories of Yanda came rushing back. _I remember him. He's that jerk that the men in white have been investigating._

Memories of an encounter in the lunch room from a few weeks ago were rushing in his head. _"Say hi to your Mom in hell for me, won't ya?" _As soon as Yanda's voice was in his head it was locked away- blacked out. As if he didn't want to remember.

Fuyuki shook. He knew enough about Yanda to know he didn't like him. Didn't matter if he may or may not have been an alien.

He was a jerk. That was the clearest and simplest way of putting it.

* * *

What Fuyuki hadn't been thinking about was Yanda's goal- a simple one at that that he had stated plenty of times.

He wanted to swap places with Fuyuki. After all Fuyuki was in the coveted 'group A' who required a lot more attention, care, dedication and anything else they needed than the group that Yanda was in 'group B'

Yanda may have been decently rich, but he wasn't Momoka after all. The Nishizawa empire was way higher than his family. And his family didn't have high hopes for their angry and violently child.

"_Just put him away some place where he can be happy. But we don't want to see him again. He's a shame to us." _And then their hopes, time and dedication went to his other brother and not even talking to the hospital staff to make sure that Yanda got the care he needed, talking to the relatives as if Yanda was off in boarding school and not a mental hospital.

They had no real hope that Yanda would ever get out of the facility. And that just made Yanda angrier and angrier.

In a way he envied people with dead parents. After all, people like Fuyuki or Tamama who didn't have parents didn't have the guardians giving instructions to the facility the Hinata house to just put them away. The facility had full freedom for people like them and in rare, lucky cases, they would get better stuff because of the pity and the government money the facility would get from them.

But Yanda didn't understand why someone like Fuyuki had even been placed in group A. He had seen and heard that the boy was delusional, but his danger level was 0 for god's sake! He was a seven! He deserved to be in group A with the better rooms, better treatment, better everything?

"Why do you think he was placed in group A?" Nubibi asked, as if reading Yanda's mind and glancing over to the table of the 'A' elites. Nubibi and Yue were about Yanda's only friends in the Hinata house.

"Maybe he's screwing that Nishizawa chick." Yanda said lewdly. "She seemed pretty set on keeping him in that group. And we all know she can get anything she wants."

"They'd never be able to screw with all the security cameras watching. If someone even tried to do that, all the patients would know about it. It would become both legend and myth." Yue remarked boredly.

"It's not that hard to get past the security cameras." Yanda wagged an eyebrow. "And if anyone wasn't monitored, it would be her."

"She doesn't even have a room!" Nubibi shouted out. "And they're both way too young, I think?" He couldn't tell Fuyuki and Momoka's age just by looking at them.

"Fourteen. Pretty young." Yue explained, she didn't add that they were all pretty messed up though, one of the reason they were in this facility.

Yanda wasn't getting anywhere with this conversation. "That Fuyuki boy doesn't deserve to be in group A. I deserve to be in his place." He hissed.

"And how do you propose doing that?" Nubibi asked. "I mean I agree, he doesn't look like he needs to be in group A, he isn't even dangerous, but neither is that Keroro fellow." Nubibi pointed out, "He's only a two on the danger chart."

Yanda nodded in agreement. He glanced over at Yue. "So we'll take their places by stirring up some trouble that gets them kicked out of that group, makes the facility realize that they don't deserve the privilege? Where does that leave you?"

"Bored. I don't care about stealing someone's spot. Every group is basically the same anyway." She sighed. Her group might have been boring too, filled with either somewhat deluded people talking about their dad living on their head, like that Alisa girl, or violent people who liked to mug others, like Asami. But group A was basically the same.

Nubibi was excited. "What are you going to do to stir up trouble?"

"It'll be a surprise." Yanda grinned. He flexed the muscle on his arm to show off his dragon tattoo.

He wouldn't be called the dragon man for nothing.

* * *

The facility never let it's patients have weapons. That was a given, but despite that sometimes people sneaked weapons in. They usually caught guns before it become serious, but there had been a few recorded knife incidents.

Koyuki herself had tried to smuggle a knife or two into the facility or figure out how to take someone else's knife if they had smuggled one. She was always caught and reprimanded. So the facility was rather happy in boasting their weapon free zone.

What the Hinata house didn't expect though was someone smuggling in matches. It must have slipped their mind, the security guards must have failed at their duty to detect it. They had thought _'oh, if someone brings matches we'll find out pretty soon, because the only thing they'd use it for is self-harm and those bruises show up pretty easily.'_

Yanda had been saving his. _Dragons breathe fire. _He reminded himself. And the tattoo of a dragon was the thing he was most proud of.

He didn't care if he accidentally burned this facility down. Nothing about this place mattered.

It was a good thing those gundam models in Fuyuki's room seemed so flammable. It was honestly a big surprise.

* * *

It was 3:15, Fuyuki's least favorite time in the day. Forced exercise.

"Just put me in prison now! It would be easier than this!" Fuyuki cried pathetically.

Keroro chuckled as he jogged with Fuyuki around the jogging track. Usually he was lazy, but he did like to boast that he was in better shape than Fuyuki.

"Oh come on Fuyuki, it's pretty easy to find a middle ground." Keroro chuckled, "You don't have to move as quickly as say Koyuki or Giroro." He pointed over to the two of them who were racing each other. "You could just walk sometimes with Tamama and me."

"Don't butt in." Tamama glared jealously at Fuyuki. He liked to think of his walks with Keroro as romantic.

"Or you could take a hint from Mois and try her routine out." Keroro joked. Angol Mois was face first into the jogging track, sleeping soundly. She had barely made it two feet before planting herself into the ground.

"Is she allowed to do that?" Fuyuki asked skeptically.

"No. But that doesn't stop her." Keroro laughed.

Dororo was trying to walk by Fuyuki's side and be included in their discussion. No such luck was happening as Fuyuki, Keroro and Tamama didn't give him any room.

"...Do you smell that?" He said suddenly. Usually he didn't smell much of anything, but his sense of smell had been desperately searching out any signs of any drugs he could find in the weeks that he was attempting to go cold turkey. "It...It smells like smoke...?"

"Don't be a hippie." Keroro teased, thinking Dororo was talking about pot yet again.

"No, wait, he's right." Fuyuki realized.

Suddenly an alarm rang. Therapists who had been stationed at every exit of the exercise room started running around and chattering.

Someone ran into the room- it was Pururu. "A fire's broken out in room 168!" She shouted. "This is not a drill. Please take the patients and move them outside to the courtyard."

"A fire?" Therapists all around her chattered.

Fuyuki's mind become numb. Keroro's face drained of all colors. "...Sarge...Wasn't that our room?" Of all the things that he had to memorize in this weird place, his room number was something that he had drilled into his brain.

"...My gundam models..." Keroro's knees buckled under him and he collapsed onto the ground, "My life's work...The only meaning in my life."

"K-keroro..." Tamama tried to offer him a hand on his shoulder, a pat on the back, but Keroro slapped his hand away. He just looked at the ground numbly.

"Get away from me. Nothing else matters now that my gundam models are gone." Keroro hissed, "I don't matter." His hands were shaking, "Do I really exist if I have nothing...?"

"That's right...Room 168 was their room." Therapists who had previously been scurrying around in a blind panic all focused on Keroro and Fuyuki.

It was like they were accusing them of starting the fire. Fuyuki felt ashamed of all the eyes on him.

"You don't think one of them...started it?" Someone said in a hushed voice.

"No! Keroro wouldn't do that!" Pururu put her foot down.

"Then Fuyuki then. He's sort of an oddball." Another one said.

A therapist finally spoke in a hushed voice, "Neither of them have a strong dangerous ranking, and I've heard rumors...Didn't _he _attempt one of these sort of fires before as a distraction to escape? We can't rule _him_ out as a possibility."

The room fell into dead silence. Whatever he they were referring to, Fuyuki didn't know.

"He's three floors above us!" Someone else shouted. The therapists were becoming scared.

"Stop this talking. We'll get to the bottom of this soon." Pururu promised, "For now I suppose we should interrogate Fuyuki and Keroro like in protocol. Keep an eye on them and for god's sake take the patients outside. The fire is probably being quelled but we don't know what else it got!" She was the only one keeping her priority's straight.

She turned away realizing she probably had to handle most of the staff in the facility and quell their fears and she rushed off.

As soon as she was gone, men in white surrounded Fuyuki and Keroro. Roughly their hands grabbed onto Fuyuki's weak arms as if they were going to chain him up.

"Come with us. And keep where we can see you." They ordered.

Fuyuki wanted to like these men in white. But he was sort of nervous and scared. "I...I didn't do it."

"We mostly know. We know who did it." They reassured him, "But we can't rule you out as a possibility."

Fuyuki was glum. He didn't even want to be a possibility.

* * *

Eventually they all were out in the courtyard. He heard from some men in white that the fire had been contained quickly but all of Fuyuki's and Keroro's stuff had been ruined.

The weirdest thing about the courtyard was the large fences covering the entire thing. Barbed wire fences too, as if they were zoo animals. Even the sky had this sort of ceiling of an iron mesh of fence.

"I think we can all safely rule that Fuyuki and Keroro had no cause in the fire. They would have no benefit." The therapists finally decided. "So then _he_ can be the only conclusion..."

"Still, this brings something else as cause of concern." Another therapist pointed out. "We easily realized that Fuyuki and Keroro wouldn't do this." The man in white pointed out, "Are we dividing up our resources correctly to have them in group A?"

Pururu looked stunned, "Of course! You know there's nothing special about group A besides Momoka, right? That's just patient talk about it being elite- rumors." She tried to quell the therapists worries. It didn't seem very true, but the facility had probably told her to keep on message.

Some of the therapists didn't believe that. They clearly knew group A had special treatment, better funding.

Suddenly the doors swung open and Garuru came marching in. "I don't want us to be pointing fingers at who caused this fire."

"B-brother..." Giroro hadn't much been paying attention to the therapists arguing but as soon as Garuru was there his attention was captured. Garuru didn't pay attention to him though. This sounded like an issue that the facility staff was just dealing with in front of the patients.

Garuru tossed Yanda out in front of the therapists. "I caught this kid snooping around near the fire, and trying to plant evidence that it was that Fuyuki guy."

Fuyuki frowned as he heard that. _I knew it! I knew Yanda was up to no good. He's...He's trying to get me kicked out of group A... Separated from my friends. _Fuyuki recalled.

"So stop blaming my patient for this mess!" Garuru frowned, "We'll know when it's him when it is him. Trust me he very much likes to brag about his handiwork." Garuru crossed his arms.

Yanda looked angry that he had been caught. Garuru was the toughest and most gruffiest therapist around. He wanted to say a snazzy line like "I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling therapists," but he didn't.

Pururu frowned at him. "We'll discuss what to do later, but for now this arguing is just driving the patients to fear us. Look at how rough they were with Fuyuki." Pururu glanced down at Fuyuki's arm. She carefully took out some band-aids with some heart marks on it and covered a bruise on his wrist. "I'm sorry. Sometimes adults get just as scared as kids. I...I think the facility desperately wanted it to be you and not the alternative."

Fuyuki beamed at Pururu's kind demeanor. The therapist Sai Uru, who hadn't actually done anything wrong today went over to Fuyuki and Keroro and ruffled their hair. "Your goal was to divide us from our patients, wasn't it Yanda Reichi?" She accused

Yanda just stammered. That wasn't his goal at all. His goal was purely selfish.

"You wanted them to distrust us, because people were scared. Well, I'll never be scared." She bravely told him. "Fuyuki, Keroro, us facility members will help redecorate your room, better than ever!"

Although she was offering other people's money and time, the therapists all smiled and nodded. That was the least they could do for suspecting them and being fearful.

"So...New gundam models?" Keroro smiled.

"Yes." Sai nodded.

"That's good enough for me." Keroro grinned. It was nice to have other people buying him things, although it took time to put the gundam models together.

All the other patients from group A looked at Keroro and Fuyuki happily. Although some of them didn't much like the facility, even they wanted to see their friends happy. And nothing was more rewarding than seeing Fuyuki smiling broadly.

"I guess it is about time to redecorate my room. Maybe Nishizawa will want to go hunting for a new crystal skull with me?" Fuyuki blushed.

The facility staff smiled at him, and Pururu sighed. "Maybe she will." She was glad everything was resolved peacefully. And Fuyuki and Keroro seemed to be happier with than than ever.

It had been a good day.

* * *

**I tried to give Yanda some more character. To quote my sister, "A daring effort."**


	10. A Circle is Round It Has No End

**I wrote the next chapter so this story could finally be ten chapters long. Ummm disclaimer: some triggering content, mention of abuse.**

**The old story summary btw, since it's now been changed:**

**"Oh, and Sarge?" he added, peeking out the door. "No invading, please." Fuyuki left the room, but nobody was sure who he had been talking to. There was no "Sergeant" in the room. Just Keroro, Fuyuki's roommate in the Mental House. Whether this is all just one big conspiracy, or Fuyuki actually HAS gone crazy, no one knows for sure. **

* * *

Fuyuki yawned as he woke up in his newly decorated room. It didn't have all the occult things that he would have wanted, but Momoka had helped him put up some cool posters that her parents had bought for her from the amazons. Keroro's side of the room was as messy and filled with toys as always.

_I wonder how Yanda's doing? _He had heard that Yanda had been punished severely for setting his room on fire, although he didn't exactly know the details on how. He was just glad that the event was over and done with.

Actually the men in white had acted surprisingly good towards him after the fire, they had cared about his safety and after care and let him see Natsumi a lot more than normal. Although the fire had been stressful, all of group A seemed to be getting along with the therapists as the activities became more fun and more about strengthening their bond as friends- something Fuyuki didn't have to lie about saying he fully approved of. He loved giving friendship lectures.

He was excited for once in the coming day to see the men in white- specifically one of the nicer therapists Sai Uru. She was having a lot more fun games than usual, bringing art books for the group and trying to make them all feel included.

Even Giroro was striving to feel included in group activities and to 'better himself' probably for Natsumi's sake.

_I don't think there's anyone in our group who dislikes Sai. She's such a nice woman! _Fuyuki smiled. Although she wasn't very approving of letting him talk about occult things, she very much enjoyed his friendship speeches and let him lecture people in their group. And that was enough for him.

Sai of course was a woman in her early twenties, from what Fuyuki had heard she was still studying in school so she was just as new to the men in white as he was, something that made him feel safer around her.

"Missy, you have got to start acting more in line!" Sai's stern voice greeted Fuyuki's ears in the hallway- just the person he was thinking about.

_I wonder if she brought another book about art therapy or something. _It was at least less boring than other activities in this place so he had grown to enjoy it, although it seemed like the only books Sai gave out. Fuyuki rushed outside into the hallway to see Sai looking very irritated at Angol Mois.

"You're the only patient in group A who hasn't made an effort to bond with everyone else! You haven't been trying any sort of therapy, you won't even admit to your delusions. Do you even want to get better?" Sai tapped her foot as if she was scolding her.

Angol Mois didn't look like she was ready to take any of this crap so early in the morning. "I keep telling you!" She insisted, "I'm not one of you pekoponians! Let me out of here!"

Sai sighed deeply. Even though most of the facility didn't touch patients Sai seemed to have the habit of trying to show physical affection and she touched the girl's arm as if to pat her and calm her. It made Angol Mois's eye twitch. "Even Giroro, the toughest patient of all is showing a difference under my new therapy technique! Why won't you just enjoy things like a normal girl and try to make friends? You have to include yourself in group activities. When we're talking about your mental health and how you're feeling you need to be honest about your emotions!" Sai both bragged about Giroro and scolded Mois.

"I am completely 100% honest. You could say, what's bothering me is this place?" Angol Mois recited again.

Fuyuki's stomach tightened. _I understand. But the men in white really are trying to help sarge. And for sarge I'd let them into my house any day. Mois, you care about him too. Why won't you understand? _

Sai opened her mouth and took a deep breathe. It almost looked like she was about to yell at Mois for not taking any of her pills, filling out any of her emotional well being sheets, or doing any activities whatsoever.

But instead she did the thing that was least expected at all. She pulled out a few sock puppets from her hand and started to sing as if she was in some sort of disney song.

"_Oh...You can't be all bummed out now about being some lonely friendless person! You have to go out there and try to make a difference! The sun is shining, the air is clean. And this place isn't the least bit mean."_

Angol Mois's expression turned to horror as Sai Uru started to dance.

"_You have to try! Take a pill! Fill out a form! In the end you will make friends and get better. The Hinata House is here for you and you'll be here for it...Doesn't matter how many problems or delusions you have, we love you as long as you try. We'll listen to you open up and cry."_

Angol Mois tried to back away but Sai Uru badly pretended she wasn't talking so her sock puppet could sing too in a sing-song none rhyming song.

"_We're your friends Mois! You can talk to me! But we can only be here for you if you let us in and give us the chance. The Hinata House is here for you, just let us in!"_

"...Does this happen often?" Fuyuki whispered to Keroro who was trying to hide.

"Yep. If you don't do what you're told, Sai will probably sing to you. I've only seen Giroro and Koyuki be sung too though. It was a horrifying experience." Keroro shuddered.

"Why? She's not off tune." Fuyuki mused.

"Yeah, but she's dancing so much...It's like she's rehearsed this. Like she honestly thinks a song number will change someone's personality in a matter of minutes." Even Keroro was a little on edge.

"_Just take your pills, deary. Your mind will be all cleared once you'__re normal. Nobody likes it when you're delusional. Friendships should not be based around lies. And the Hinata house and me, well we're your friends." _Sai continued singing.

"_You could do all the normal activities a girl could strive for someday when you're an adult!" _The sock puppet told her, "_Like be a mom! Be a wife!"_

"Seismologist?" Angol Mois suggested. "Programmer?"

"_Those aren't jobs for sweet girls like you, silly! Be normal! The Hinata House will be your friend if you let it." _Sai bowed as she finished her song. "Well? Convinced?" She offered Mois a glass of water and some pills as if suddenly Mois would now take them.

"Of course not! Why would my mind suddenly change after a song?" Angol Mois asked.

Sai pouted, "Well, because I'm your friend now, silly! Don't think of me as a therapist. Think of me as a...Cool upperclassmen that you want to be like and seek advice from!" Sai decided. She pulled Angol Mois against her will into a sweet and tight hug. "Don't worry, Mois. I read your file. I understand why you're afraid to let us help you. But we're nothing like the therapists on Keron."

_SLAP!_

Angol Mois soundly wrangled herself free and slapped Sai on the face.

Keroro gasped. He didn't think he had ever seen anyone besides Giroro and Tamama have any sort of violent tendencies towards the therapists.

Sai looked shocked as she rubbed her cheek. Her eyes were puffy as if she was the victim.

"T-there's...T-there's a rule...Y-you're not s-supposed to mention Keron t-to me. I...I don't want to remember that place." Angol Mois covered her ears as if trying to drown something out. Her entire body was shaking and she looked as if she was crying.

"Sometimes it's best to talk about things and bring them to light no matter how hard they are!" Sai said chipperly. "I know you didn't like the place, but I'm nothing like them. Maybe we can have some individual therapy and then have some girl talk? Doesn't that sound fun? We'll only talk about Keron for a half an hour or so!"

Angol Mois backed away, trembling, she just shook her head over and over again before she let out a loud wail and and cry in terror and trauma. She then ran off as fast as she could away from Sai.

_I don't understand. _Fuyuki realized, Mois out of sight. The Angol Mois he remembered in his head loved Keron. It was where Keroro had raised her after all, it was a precious memory to her. "Why did she go, Sarge? I thought she loved Keron."

Fuyuki couldn't shake the confession, the possibility that maybe his memories could be wrong. He stepped forward as if to chase after her, to question her as his curiosity got larger and larger.

Keroro grabbed his hand before he could. "Don't." Keroro instructed. "I don't know much about the place or Mois..."

Fuyuki wanted to interrupt and correct him, but he let Keroro go on.

"But every time the place is brought up it triggers her. All I know about Keron is that it was another mental hospital that had some big funding or something. They were closed after some scandal that I never researched much on, I didn't care, something about treating their patients inhumanely? But once they closed down the Hinata House gained a few of the more dangerous patients in the transfer. The only one I've met though is Mois, so I don't know if they all dislike Keron." Keroro explained. He seemed uninterested in it, like he didn't care about Keron- his home planet.

Fuyuki couldn't really process what Keroro was saying. Keron was a planet! Not a mental hospital. And Angol Mois didn't come from it, the platoon did! "What do you mean dangerous?"

"People who have killed before." Keroro whispered. "A lot of the patients who haven't murdered were shaken up during the transfer, like myself. But Mois's pretty nice so people weren't as afraid...Of course, that's also when the rumors started..."

"What rumors?" Fuyuki asked again.

"That people disappear on floor four." Keroro reminded. "Some patients, not me of course, say that the spirits of dead patients of Keron haunt the place. But that's just bogus. Used to play all sorts of pranks on Giroro about it though."

Fuyuki couldn't help but laugh. Natsumi would probably fall for that sort of thing too.

It was weird, to say the least. But at least there was some sort of mystery revolving around it. Just like every odd thing in his life, flour four seemed to be at the center of it, something Fuyuki didn't understand.

But as an occult researcher, he wanted to.

* * *

Angol Mois just wanted to be left alone.

_These pekoponians are awful. _She thought in her head. Really Fuyuki was the only one who talked to her as if she was right. And even now he was drifting away as if he was pretending that she wasn't an alien.

She didn't want the therapists prodding her. She didn't want the staff bothering her. She just wanted to sniffle and be left alone to her thoughts. But everywhere she went she knew that Tamama would probably accidentally find her, and then he'd start bullying her.

There was really only one place where Tamama avoiding. Where everybody really avoided. Security was tight she had heard, you could only get up there with an elevator key if you were sick, but that didn't stop her as she found herself on floor four. Who knew how she had gotten up there? Surely none of the therapists.

"Maybe now I can finally be away from Sai." She hoped as she wandered aimlessly around the halls.

And if death came for her like in the legends...Well, it was still better than being sung at by some woman with a sock puppet.

Eventually Mois came upon a large door made out of iron. It didn't look normal like any other sort of door in the Hinata house. It looked sturdy and had pretty tough security. Red lights flared above it of "Warning. DANGER. Do not go in if you have not been trained!"

Angol Mois of course did not heed the warnings. She was much too curious to listen and pay attention to flashing signs.

_Either way whatever in that room has to be better than here. _She decided. The mystery of it was rather alluring in a way. She could hope for literally anything, her cell phone, a means of escape, or even a friend who would respect her and listen to her. Who would make her feel less alone but also respect her boundaries.

Ignoring the retina scan and somehow bypassing it, she managed to open the door.

"Hello!" She smiled. Maybe...Just Maybe her hopes could be granted. But only time would tell.

* * *

The day went on pretty much as normal after Angol Mois ran off. Although Sai was chewed out by her superiors since Angol Mois attended the events of the day even less than normal, which was not actually that rare, nobody could find her, everything else was normal.

Fuyuki chatted with Momoka during lunch while Giroro flirted it up with Natsumi. Fuyuki complained during exercise. Fuyuki bonded with the therapists and the men in white and asked them to please help Keroro's emotional state.

Everything went on as normal, as if Fuyuki was finally getting used to his days. Except during individual group therapy.

Individual group therapy was one of Fuyuki's favorite times of the day. It happened from 4:45-5:45 and his therapist was Pururu. Since Keroro wasn't around Fuyuki could finally talk about aliens. He and Angol Mois were grouped together because of their common delusions.

Fuyuki sat down in a comfy chair in front of Pururu. Pururu looked more stressed than usual.

"I'm sorry, Fuyuki. Today Mois won't be joining us. She's, well..." Pururu chewed at her lip. "She's missing."

"Missing?" Fuyuki looked shocked. He stood up concerned. If one of his friend's was missing. _I smell an adventure! Whenever sarge or sis goes missing we go on this huge adventure on a space ship to find them! Is this going to be another adventure like the time we saved Natsumi from the meronians? _"Why don't we go look for her?"

"I've been given orders not to look for her." Pururu admitted.

"Why?" Fuyuki asked.

"Mois's a bit of a weird girl. She goes missing a lot actually. Usually she's sleeping in some odd place, like a cat. One time we found her in the laundry." Pururu giggled a bit. "She always turns up eventually. But it's still perplexing."

Fuyuki looked disappointed that Mois wouldn't be joining them.

"Well? Would you like to talk about how you viewed everyone today? How you felt about them? What you did?" Pururu prodded.

"Sure! Today Momoka and I..." Fuyuki started a story about what he had talked about with Momoka- generally normal things and correct events. He also added in some details about Giroro's love life, how Tamama had eaten three whole cakes in the cafeteria in one gulp and how he had seen Koyuki crawling on the ceiling. All events that had actually happened.

Pururu was quite proud of him during the therapy session, but it was awkwardly cut short as her pager started beeping.

"I'm in the middle of a session." Pururu frowned.

"I know. But this is urgent. I heard there's an intruder on flour four. You've been called up there." Garuru's voice was on the other end.

Pururu sighed, deeply annoyed. "I'm sorry, Fuyuki. You heard him. It's urgent...An intruder though? I hope it wasn't a wayward patient." She looked concerned. "If...If it was...They're dead."

Before Fuyuki could say good-bye to her, she rushed off, obviously more panicky than she was letting on.

_Floor four again? _Fuyuki was even more interested. What sort of occult mystery was up there?

_"People have died up there. And nobody who goes there of their own volition ever returns." _He recalled Keroro's words. Whatever poor intruder was up there wouldn't discover the secrets of floor 4 before him...No, instead they would die. Fuyuki knew that much.

But that didn't stop him from wanting to know what floor four was all about.

* * *

Collective therapy. Again. It was the last therapy of the day, at nine o'clock. There was still no sign of Angol Mois.

"Hello! I'm back ya'll!" Sai posed like a magical girl, ready to be the group's therapist. "And even though I may have failed at getting one person to open up, I'm ready to improve the rest of your lives and get the rest of you to open up!"

"What's the subject today that we're talking about?" Tamama asked impatiently. He didn't like Sai very much. Only ignorant people like Keroro and Fuyuki really did. Maybe Dororo too since he liked everyone. He forgave too much.

"Hmmm...How about telling the group something honest? Like about the person who's made you saddest and why and how you can forgive them? After all forgiveness is the first step to being healthy!"

A lot of the patients looked uncomfortable. Especially Giroro. He was obviously trying to take group activities more seriously but Sai pushed all of his buttons. All of them.

"Who wants to go first?" Sai asked. She pointed at Fuyuki. "You!"

Fuyuki tried to think for a moment. "I suppose Yanda made me pretty sad. He did burn down my room. I guess I could try to make more of an effort to be his friend. But...He also burned down my room." Fuyuki weighed the options.

Sai nodded. "Friendship is the key to all sorts of forgiveness." She glanced at Koyuki. "You're up next!"

Koyuki picked her teeth with a toothpick. She still didn't want to try to get along with people like Sai. "You maybe."

Sai pouted. "Go to your room, missy!"

Koyuki got up and proudly marched off.

Sai waited until she was gone and looked at Tamama, Giroro and Dororo, the remaining patients. "Tamama?"

"Definitely that woman. I mean nobody else has really made me sad. She existed. Isn't that crime enough?" Tamama asked. "And how can I forgive that?"

"Well...Uhhh, thanks for opening up and being honest, but I neither know who 'that woman' is nor have you forgiven anyone." Sai giggled awkwardly. "Dororo?"

Dororo looked glum. "Keroro." He whispered in a small voice. "And...I don't know if I'm ready to forgive."

"Funny coincidence. My answer is exactly the same!" Keroro tried to make a joke, hoping to get Dororo to laugh at him, to like him a bit more. The joke, something way too close to the truth was at his own expense, but it didn't work.

Fuyuki paled at that.

Sai frowned. Yet again this wasn't going like she wanted. "Giroro? Please answer and I'll give you a smiley face on your report." She bribed. Giroro had been doing pretty good lately.

"I...I can't...I'll never forgive her." Giroro's arms were weak. "And from what I've been trying to do here in the last few weeks, and what you therapists have been telling me, that's all right. I don't have to forgive to get stronger. Better." He tried to state his thoughts out loud, so as to not anger Sai. He still wanted to be a good patient.

He needed to get better. To get discharged. He wanted to see Natsumi outside of the world of the Hinata House. He wanted her to see him as someone she could rely on too. He wanted to bond with her.

"That's not all right!" Sai pouted, not understanding. "Forgiveness is the best way to get over these things. Please talk to the group about who made you sad."

"If...If it would be all right...I would prefer not too...It aggravates my PTSD." Giroro was trying desperately not to blow up at Sai.

Sai pulled a guitar out of her bag. "Sing along time!" She shouted. "You have to learn that it's okay to relay on us, Giroro. Now sing along to my song. You can't just use being triggered as an excuse to not make friends."

"_Make new friends...But keep the old. One is silver and the others gold...A circle is round it has no end that's how much I want to be your friend."_ Sai started singing a classic friendship song, hoping that Giroro would open up. It had the opposite effect.

Giroro stood up abruptly, unable to contain his anger any longer. He threw a chair angrily at Sai.

"We're throwing chairs now?" Tamama asked. "AWW YEAH!" He threw a chair, imitating Giroro. He wasn't even angry, he was just impulsive and reckless.

"SHUT UP!" Giroro yelled "I can't take this sappy pretend friendship thing anymore! I don't want to talk about this subject with anyone at all!"

"Giroro...If you're violent like this you're going to have some smiley faces removed on your report." Sai frowned and put away her now broken guitar.

Giroro tried to stready his breathing. He was sweating as anger pulsed through his reddened face. "Y-you're right...I'm sorry." He apologized. "I...I had an outburst again...Heh...I'm never going to get better am I? No matter how hard I try..." He covered his face. If Fuyuki hadn't heard how strained his words were and how it looked like Giroro wanted to cry he would have thought Giroro was just trying to be cool.

Giroro ran out of the room, humiliated.

"I...I better go after him." Dororo decided. "He needs a friend."

"No let me help!" Keroro offered, desperately. The two of them competitively ran off to their childhood friend, Tamama following behind them.

And Sai and Fuyuki were left to clean up the mess of broken chairs. Fuyuki sighed but started picking up broken wood pieces. He wouldn't let Sai clean it up on her own.

"You're helping?" Sai looked shocked. Maybe her therapy had gotten through to someone.

"Of course I am. It wouldn't be very nice of me not too!" Fuyuki replied.

Sai smiled and wiped a tear from her eye, "Fuyuki, if you weren't a patient, I'm sure you'd be my friend." She told him meaningfully.

Fuyuki smiled. "We're already friends, Sai."

Sai may have screwed up, but she was well meaning.

Sai giggled. She then sighed after a moment looking at Tamama and Giroro's big mess. "I'm trying my best, I really am! But all the other patients are just so terrible. You're the only one I can trust Fuyuki! You're my favorite."

Uh-oh. Was she venting to Fuyuki about his friends?

Fuyuki remained silent as she continued her irritated rant.

"You should be an inspiration to all patients. You've really turned around. But no matter how hard they keep trying they just won't let me in! I guess I'm too pretty for them. Why did the world just have to make me so beautiful?" She flipped her hair as if it was luscious.

_It's not as pretty as Momoka's. _Fuyuki dismissed the thought a slight blush on his cheek.

"First Mois being all elitist, thinking she's better than this facility, than Koyuki trying to be snarky! Then Giroro not listening to my advice, I studied about these mental illnesses, not him!" Sai pouted, "And then Tamama just being...Well Tamama!" She didn't know what to say about Tamama.

"What's wrong with Giroro anyway...? Why is he like this?" Fuyuki finally asked. This version of Giroro struck him as odd. Sure Giroro was angry in his memories, blowing things up with guns, but he wasn't **this **angry. Giroro's anger had been controllable in a weird sort of way in his memories. He channeled it for battle. But Giroro's anger seemed more along the lines of Natsumi's anger now, easily triggered and like it could kill someone.

He had never seen Giroro like that before.

"I suspect he's in love. I mean he has been trying and that's something, but he can't change who he is, you know?" Sai gave her personal opinion. "Oh! Maybe next therapy session we should talk about love and what's appropriate in the Hinata house? I wonder what pretty patient caught his eyes, was it Koyuki? I always pegged them as having a special sort of thing."

_It was my sister. _Fuyuki sighed, but didn't correct that. "No, I meant why is he...Angrier than usual?"

Sai sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you. It goes against patient confidentiality after all." She looked at how sad Fuyuki looked, "But oh well! We're friends, aren't we? And friends don't keep secrets!"

She sat down on the couch as Fuyuki continued cleaning. "From what I know of Giroro's file, his parents split up when he was rather young. Garuru his older brother was left in the custody of his father and Giroro was left in the custody of his mother. Apparently he was abused rather terribly by the woman and later ran away to join the army when he was fifteen, hoping to escape her. That's why he has that scar across his face. The diagnosis is severe PTSD."

"Oh...I...I had no idea..." Fuyuki felt terrible.

But Sai didn't stop talking. "That's not even the least of Group A's problems and diagnoses!" Apparently she was ready to tell Fuyuki about everyone. "You know about Koyuki of course, no mental problems there, she's just trying to be reintegrated into society, but she has no one, no family, no friends after her gang abandoned her. Maybe she's doing that tough act to try to reach out to us. Or maybe she was a feral child and the gang took her in and that's why she's so weird!" Sai's eyes sparkled at her theory.

Fuyuki wanted her to stop.

"Dororo has severe depression he uses drugs as his only coping mechanism because I think it's easier to him than realizing that his friends exploited and didn't care for him. He was also very chronically ill from a weak immune system, probably keeps himself high to stop the physical pain and the emotional." She gave a laugh as if it was funny. "Keroro is caring that guilt over exploiting Dororo and being a big bully as a child and as you know-"

"Is a depressed hoarder, I know." Fuyuki tried to get her to stop. Hearing about his friends like this just sounded too...personal.

"He's also an obsessive liar and constantly has to be readmitted because he was never really better." Sai told him. "And Tamama, well...He has no past and probably no future. He's an orphan that has nothing and won't talk about it, believing that he never truly existed before. Not only that but he's violent and reckless. During his manic stages of his bipolar he makes all sorts of rash decisions."

"Okay..." Fuyuki hoped the spilling of his friends secrets were over.

"Momoka Nishizawa may be a rich heiress but she's severely damaged from just genetic disabilities. She believes she has two personas, one that is a lot more overly violent and tough than the other one to cope with the harsh job that she'll most likely have in the future."

_There's nothing wrong with Momoka. _Fuyuki didn't really see her stuff as a problem. Keroro seemed sad, but Momoka didn't.

"Angol Mois is delusional like you. She thinks she's an alien that destroys planets as you know. She's forgotten everything before a massive earthquake and you, well after the death of your mother..."

Fuyuki's head started pounding again. "Thank you for being honest with me. I think things are mostly clean so I have to go."

Sai frowned but waved at him.

Fuyuki left the room in a hurry. He rushed to the bathrooms and threw up in the sink until the pounding went away.

His mother wasn't dead. Sai was wrong. She had gotten the wrong information.

But the things she had said about his friends were surprisingly accurate. And it made him wonder...What was happening to the aliens he knew and loved?

And more importantly, what was happening to him?

* * *

**Please review. I've forgotten if I mentioned Saburo yet in this fic...**

**...Just looked back at it, yeah. He was mentioned in chapter 2. He's not in the hospital and is just like normal.**


	11. I Double Dog Dare You To

**Another chapter. Two chapters in one day! **

**Trigger warning: Mentions of suicide.**

* * *

Floor four was a mystery, an ever expanding one to Fuyuki. And it made him feel better to think about that than anything else, like the other oddities and differences of his friends- how they weren't exactly like how they were supposed to be in his memory.

During breakfast the next morning as Fuyuki ate some of his rice, he finally spoke up. "I...I want to explore floor four."

"No! You can't Fuyuki!" Keroro shut Fuyuki's desires down. "Haven't you listened to literally anything anyone has said? If you go to floor four..." Keroro gulped and looked at his younger friend as if he was scared. "You'll die. Nobody ever returns. Nobody."

Fuyuki didn't look like that was very a convincing enough reason to stop him.

"Keroro's right for once." Giroro slammed his tray of food down next to Fuyuki. Giroro didn't usually eat breakfast over at Keroro, Angol Mois's, Tamama's, Momoka's and Fuyuki's table, but the conversation had drawn him in. "Floor four is dangerous and there's nothing occult about it. It's just an annoyance."

"W-what...? You've been there?" Tamama seemed surprised.

"The healing room's there, remember? And I'd rather not remember my experiences there." Giroro frowned and didn't give any more details into the mysterious healing room.

Giroro was the only member of group A that had ever stirred up enough trouble to be sent there.

Fuyuki looked around waiting for Momoka or Angol Mois to tell him it was okay to explore floor four. For them to give him some support. But as normal Mois was using her bowl of rice as a pillow, sleeping and not listening and Momoka was just frowning.

"I'm sorry, Fuyuki. Even though I'm a Nishizawa even I don't know about floor four." Momoka frowned. "I was told to not go to it, but not much else. But I can respect my staffs instruction and advise you against it too. It's probably just a bunch of boring facility stuff anyway. Sometimes you have to be a bit more skeptical about these rumors remember?"

Fuyuki nodded. "As expected from someone from the occult club! A logical belief." He patted Momoka on the back.

Momoka blushed for a moment as Fuyuki's hand grazed against her. He was praising her as if it was nothing. "T-thank...Thank you, Fuyuki..." She twiddled her fingers even though she wasn't in any sort of occult club. The doctors wouldn't let Fuyuki make one, but if he offered to let only her join something like that...She wouldn't refuse.

"You're right that the rumors about floor four have been based on only speculation and not any sort of evidence. Part of being into the occult is disproving false reports too." Fuyuki smiled.

"Wow, I'm surprised you'd want to disprove anything of the occult variety." Keroro really was shocked. He'd thought Fuyuki would latch onto this. _Well, I guess if Momoka suggested it wasn't real he'd believe her. Pretty obvious that he has a bit of a crush._

"How would you even get onto the fourth floor though?" Tamama nibbled on Angol Mois's food as she slept. "I mean, it's impossible. The elevator is always locked so it's hard to go up there and only the really sick people get elevator keys so they can go to the doctor on the third floor."

Fuyuki frowned and sighed. So he'd just have to let this one go? That sounded so unsatisfying.

But at the same time Momoka was right. There was nothing proving or giving any sort of evidence that the fourth floor was haunted or dangerous. It must have just been a rumor started up by the frogs.

The fourth floor shouldn't matter to him. He had to think about more important things.

* * *

The more important things that Fuyuki failed to be thinking about was Yanda. Although Yanda had been confined to his room for a month after the fire incident and the month was barely over, Fuyuki still managed to run into him in the doctor's office when he had to get his daily check-up.

"Yanda." Fuyuki hissed.

"Hey brat." Yanda frowned. He flexed his muscles for no reason except to show off his tattoos. "I bet you're surprised to see me. After all I'm supposed to be confined. But the doctors don't want to make special visits to assess my condition so I'm escorted here for daily check-ups."

Fuyuki didn't really care about how Yanda was doing. He tried his best to ignore him, since he knew talking to Yanda just agitated him. Like a demon Yanda seemed to feed off of his suffering.

Yanda continued trying to prod Fuyuki with insults, but nothing seemed to work. "So how's group A going...? A position that you don't deserve?"

"How do your friends feel about you trying to ditch them all in group B?" Fuyuki retorted. "My group doesn't have special treatment, we've just formed extreme bonds of friendship."

Yanda huffed. "They're fine with it. I've actually heard group B was stricken with a bad cold. Most of them just have to stay in their rooms for isolation but maybe a couple will be sent up here and I'll be able to see them."

This was news to Fuyuki. _I guess that's why I haven't seen Alisa around much. _She was the only one who really stuck out to him from group B.

He did recall that most of group B hadn't been in the cafeteria that week. It was like they were dwindling.

Yanda gave a large smile as if he held a very important thing- the leverage of information. He knew that Fuyuki would only talk to him if he had that. "Maybe I can get one of them to pass on the cold to you. I bet you'd be even more pathetic sick, you wouldn't be able to defend your position in group A..."

"Fuyuki, your exam is finished. You can go back." A nurse said. Fuyuki got up off the stool and walked away from Yanda trying his best to ignore him.

He wouldn't let Yanda separate him from his friends. Never ever. _I'll stick with them no matter what. No matter what I face._

He didn't know that it wasn't him who was going to be separated from his group.

* * *

Yue Hazuka was a bored girl rather apathetic about all aspects of life. It was as if she couldn't connect with any sort of emotion. Most people thought she was just cold and calculating, or perhaps egotistical. That she thought she was better than them but it was nothing of the sort. She just couldn't connect with them no matter how much she may have someday wished that she could.

Still, the only person who had put up with her bored and apathetic personality was Yanda. Pulling her into his group like she would be his follower he accepted her regardless of her faults. And for that she was ever thankful.

He was her leader. She'd go through whatever plan he ordered her to do. And that's why no matter how sick she was, she didn't want to be isolated in her room.

"_Observe that Fuyuki brat while I'm away. Write down his weaknesses." _Yanda had ordered her when he had been dragged away, kicking and screaming by Garuru. And although she didn't chase after him she gave a simple bored nod.

So she couldn't go to her room. She needed to keep pushing herself- doing daily activities for Yanda's sake. So she could see Fuyuki during lunch.

_I'm apathetic. If there's one thing I can do it's be numb to the pain. _She reminded herself. _If it's for the leader I'll do anything. _Observing Fuyuki might have been incredibly boring, but she'd push herself through it.

But the cold was getting to her. And as she wrote in her little notebook, her vision got blurry. None of her group B members were with her, they were all out sick.

She collapsed on her notebook.

A therapist who was watching after the patients ran over to her- Sai. She put her hand on the girl's head and drew it back. "She's burning up!" She realized.

Yue opened her eyes. "I-I'm fine."

Sai shook her head. She pulled off her identification keycard and keys. "You need to go to the doctor. You have much more than a cold. You're in real danger." She looked around desperately at the other patients. She didn't want to leave them alone. "Will you be all right going there yourself? The elevators real easy to use. Just press the '3' button."

Yue nodded. Perhaps if she was in a better state of mind she would have questioned Sai's judgment call to not escort her to the doctor or give her free reign of the facility with the elevator key, but her rather feverish mind was just focused on one thing. _I failed him. I failed Yanda._

What hurt her the most was she wasn't even sad. She wasn't afraid. She was just numb. Just like her always apathetic self.

She numbly walked off, her legs feeling like iron. She slipped the keycard into the elevator as patients avoided her for fear of catching a cold. She clutched onto her notebook of Fuyuki's weaknesses.

She didn't think as she pressed the button, '4'. Everything was so blurry in her mind as she stepped out of the elevator.

"D-doctor...I'm here to see the doctor..." She reminded herself as she continued walking, limply coming upon a giant set of iron doors. As she tried to slip a keycard through a broken retina scanner the door opened, malfunctioning.

Yue's eyes widened as she saw what was inside. Her legs collapsed under her due to sickness and fatigue.

And for the first time in a while she felt fright at the sight. She felt fear.

* * *

Fuyuki didn't know much about Yanda's friends or group B, but he was still a nice person. And it concerned him to see someone collapse in the cafeteria.

_I only really remember Nubibi. He's a keronian, right? _The name sounded keronian. The girl however, didn't leave any impression on him whatsoever besides the fact that she usually sounded bored.

He hoped she'd be okay.

"Sai!" Pururu quickly ran over to the other therapist a little later in the day. "Some of the other therapists can't find Yue from group B. Seen her?"

Sai smiled. "Why yes! I sent her to the doctor on floor 3. She was very sick." She seemed proud of herself.

Pururu's eyes widened. "You know we're supposed to escort patients to the hospital rooms!" She reminded. "There were too many problems with accidents of them getting to floor four."

"Yue's a smart girl. I'm sure she didn't make a mistake." Sai tried to sooth Pururu's fears.

Pururu flipped through a clipboard. Yue hadn't ever checked into the doctor's on floor 3.

Most of group A awkwardly watched this exchange, thanking their lucky stars that Pururu had saved them from therapy with Sai.

The doors swung open and the mysteriously cool Garuru marched in. He only ever seemed to announce himself when trouble happened and for important events, but dang did he make an entrance. He put a hand on Pururu's shoulder.

"Yue's been located."

"Oh that's a relief." Pururu sighed.

"Where is she?" Fuyuki knew he didn't like her or know her, but he felt like he should ask anyway.

Garuru looked downcast. "There was nothing I could do for her when she was located on the fourth floor. She was...She wasn't like what she was before. We all rushed her to a therapy room, but..."

Sai and Pururu covered their mouths. "She had gotten on the fourth floor?" Sai looked surprised and shook her head, like she couldn't have made a mistake like this. Her eyes got all teary.

"She's dead." Garuru's words were hollow. "She didn't seem to retain any physical injuries, but after being mentally broken. I guess she was convinced to do something dangerous."

Sai covered her mouth and gasped.

Fuyuki looked shocked. Someone who he had seen that very day was dead? He felt nauseous.

"So...The rumor strikes again." Keroro realized. "Anyone who goes up to floor four is dead."

"Remind the patients Pururu that floor four is dangerous." Garuru told her, "And you, Sai,"

Sai made a squeaking sound.

"Follow protocol. No more of this thinking you're better than the rules sort of thing? Structure is the safest thing we have. And you're dismantling it with your unneeded singing and not focusing on what's important."

Giroro oohed and snapped. Sai had this coming.

"I'm...I'm so sorry...I had no idea...She's dead because of me." Sai covered her mouth her face turning an oddly green color. "I'll make sure none of these children,"

"I'm older than you." Keroro said under his breath.

"Ever get hurt again. I'll make sure nobody goes up to the fourth floor." She vowed. No more healing rooms. It was too dangerous.

There wouldn't ever be another Yue. This mistake wouldn't happen again.

"Mistakes are a terrible thing to make. But for the people who make them I suppose the best thing you can do is learn from them." Garuru nodded as if he didn't make mistakes.

Sai smiled. "Your words are so encouraging."

Garuru turned around. "When you're done with the this group, report what happened to Yue to the other groups. They need to stay away from floor four."

Sai nodded. "Yes sir!"

* * *

Fuyuki was oddly slow and sluggish the next day. Sad. Everybody with a moral conscious was at the news of Yue's death. It was like the entire hospital was in mourning. All the patients got to bring flowers to a picture of her on an altar during lunch and a few words were spoken about her life.

They were about as boring as her view on the world had been.

Fuyuki didn't know what to say.

"I'm glad in a way your sister doesn't know about this." Keroro sighed. "She's not visiting today, is she?" Keroro pointed out.

Fuyuki shook his head. "Sis isn't coming home for lunch right now. She's working."

"She'd panic if she knew someone died here." Keroro recalled.

"Don't speak about it like she was murdered." Dororo advised. "You know exactly what happened. She basically committed suicide, correct? But...Isn't that why the Hinata house exists in the first place? To protect us from that...?"

Fuyuki noticed that Dororo smelled a lot like drugs again. He didn't know Dororo was into that sort of thing.

Keroro frowned. _Did the knowledge that someone else managed to get away with suicide drive him back into his addiction...? _"Dororo...?"

"Don't talk to him." Koyuki hissed at Keroro as if this was his fault. She was very protective of Dororo. "You're responsible for every hardship in his life after all. You're worse than whatever everyone's afraid of on that mystical floor four!"

"Miss Koyuki!" Dororo hushed, "Be kinder. Life is like a leaf. It breezes away in the wind only to fall onto the ground." It was a rather drugged out statement, it sounded very hippie-ish.

Koyuki looked very sad at what Dororo was becoming again. She hugged her friend. "I'm here for you. Don't worry. We'll...We'll get you to stop again someday...But not today, I suppose. Do...Do you want me to...With you...?" She offered.

Dororo shook his head. He was sensible enough to know that Koyuki shouldn't have drugs with him. "This burden is not yours to bare lady Koyuki."

Koyuki just frowned.

Fuyuki tried not to look at how sad and depressing his friend's lives were like.

Momoka wasn't attending the odd sort of funeral lunch. Giroro just shook his head saying it was a real shame. Tamama was mostly disappointed that it was interrupting regular lunch and Angol Mois was one of those people without morals who wasn't exactly seeing the big deal.

Suddenly the doors swung open. Yanda was scratched up and bruised and huffing. He must have broken out of his room to attend the funeral.

"Y-yanda..." Fuyuki knew now wasn't the time to have their rivalry.

Instead of barreling at Fuyuki, Yanda ran towards Nubibi and pulled him up by the collar. He then clobbered him in the face with his fist.

"Y-yanda! W-what the heck, man?" Nubibi asked.

"I wasn't here! You were here! Why didn't you look after her? She was a member of our pack?" Yanda scolded angrily. "S-she...She was our friend. She listened to anything and everything I said..." He slung his head in defeat as his fists continued punching.

"I had nothing to do with this! Floor four took her life, not me! Stop it! You're hurting me!" Nubibi cried.

"Oh? Like Yue was hurt?" Yanda punched him harder, slamming him to the ground. Nubibi was bleeding. "You deserved to die, not her!"

Therapists from all over ran towards Yanda and tackled him before he could slam Nubibi's skull into the hard wooden floor.

Yanda didn't even cry out in pain. Anger was the only thing he was experiencing at the moment.

"You're going to the healing room." They shouted, "Maybe then you'll get your anger managed. Who knew someone could be angry enough to fight the staff and get in here?"

"Oh? The healing room again? You mean the floor Yue died on?" Yanda laughed. "You probably put her in the healing room. I don't buy that she committed suicide from just randomly mentally breaking for a moment. That must be a cover up!" Yanda yelled, "She's not as tough as me. She couldn't survive that place."

"The healing room is a safe place. We don't know what you're talking about." They pulled out a cloth filled with chloroform to knock him out. His shouts slowly ebbed away.

"The healing room is there to help patients. To save them. It's nothing to be afraid of. The rest of floor four however should not be sought out. And only patients that really need the healing room will go there." They repeated to the terrified spectators.

Pulling Yanda onto a stretcher they carried him and the injured Nubibi away.

And Fuyuki had to just watch as both were taken away. _The healing room..._Fuyuki didn't remember that room in his house, but all he knew was there was something suspicious about it.

What kind of a room needed to be labeled healing?

"Don't speak just sit." Giroro instructed. "Don't drag attention to yourself."

Fuyuki was about to speak up and ask what the healing room actually did even though the entire staff and patients were tense. He would have clearly been dragged off if he spoke out loud, he realized. "Why did you help me out...?"

"I would be pretty terrible if I wasn't looking out for Natsumi's younger brother, wouldn't I be? I mean..." Giroro blushed, "Uhh, you're an okay guy. I want to keep you safe."

Fuyuki smiled a bit. _So he's looking out for his future brother-in-law. _Things must have been going well with Natsumi then. Giroro seemed absolutely in love with her, although he didn't exactly know how Natsumi felt.

"Thanks." Fuyuki smiled.

The healing room might not be a safe place. And if it wasn't he didn't want to go there.

He was starting to get more and more suspicious of this 'fourth floor'.

* * *

**Anyway please review!**

**P.S. The chapter title is a reference to the reason Yue probably died. She was doing something reckless.**


	12. Tragic Backstory

**Here's the next chapter.**

**A reminder that my sister is no longer editing my stuff.**

**It's kind of short I didn't have very long to write it. Mostly gironatsu stuff.**

* * *

Giroro had a problem. And that problem revolved around Natsumi Hinata.

He liked her. No, maybe a bit more than liked her. She had easily taken over his thoughts and his goals seemed to revolve around her. At first his mad obsession of love had been a sort of admiration, his nightmares of the war were replaced with the knowledge that if she had been there- the warrior princess, she wouldn't have been scarred like he was. She would have conquered and gotten through it, perfecting every technique and her fighting being noble unlike his where he had to commit war crimes for his country.

But slowly as he slipped over and started talking to her more and more his love for her grew larger and larger, they shared many common interests, she was easy to talk to and her laugh was adorable when he was making a joke or something like that. It was easy to converse with her, although lately he was getting rather tongue tied.

What was worrisome though was the knowledge that his relationship with Natsumi would never progress to a place that he wanted. His nightmares of his past had been replaced by good dreams about her, he wanted to go outside into the outer world and hold her hand, to date her. He wanted her to see him as an equal and just as important as she was making him feel.

Giroro focused harder than ever on getting better. To try to learn how to actually function in society. He had never once had a goal in this hospital, a drive. There was nothing outside waiting for him.

A broken family, crimes that he had committed, a flame filled legacy of war. That was all he had. And even when Garuru had joined the hospital staff, the only member of his family that he actually liked, the guy barely visited him. He wasn't like the strong sibling bond that Natsumi and Fuyuki shared.

But Natsumi was changing his life. She was giving him a goal and something to focus on. _She doesn't like it when I'm violent. When I snap. _Giroro recalled. _She...She probably thinks I'm some deranged psychopath. _He could understand. Natsumi probably never even had an inkling of on an urge to date him. Heck, she probably didn't even want to be his friend while he was in this state.

She probably was frightened of him. She thought he was dangerous. After all that was what society and this hospital had been telling him for a while. Mentally ill people were dangerous and they had to learn to hide their symptoms for the safety of the general public.

Giroro had never wanted to hide something about himself before. But for Natsumi's sake, he'd do it. _I just want to be normal. I want...I want her to see me as normal..._

He didn't want to be deranged to her. And no matter how much it hurt him to think about how he'd never reach that 'healthy, normal' level, he would attempt. Because he loved Natsumi Hinata.

And he wanted her to notice him. Even if he knew deep down all his efforts were futile. They were just in two very different worlds.

He never stood a chance.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Giroro, Natsumi didn't think anything along the lines of his fears. She didn't think he was dangerous or deranged. If he stepped out of line, she was more egotistical than anything, knowing she could handle him.

Maybe it was because she had a short, unnatural fuse too, that she understood him. But she never once thought he wasn't normal or dangerous. Instead her conversations with him after their initial meeting were pleasant and she felt like she was just chatting with a friend. It was surprising to say the least how easy it was to get along with Fuyuki's fellow patients, and she felt somewhat guilty for talking to Giroro during her one hour visiting time at times, but she really just saw him as a normal friend.

Not that she ever told him that, she didn't know it was an issue or worry of his. He always put up such a strong front.

"Hello Fuyuki!" Natsumi sighed as she sat down in front of him. It was the weekend so she was free to visit Fuyuki as she wished. "How...How have things been going...? Anything new?" She was glad enough that Fuyuki had mentioned aliens a little less. Maybe this place really was helping him.

Fuyuki bit his lip and neglected to mention the dead person. "Nope. Nothing much. Sai started singing."

Natsumi tilted her head. "W-who's Sai...?" Maybe she didn't want to know.

"Sai's one of the therapist's. Super annoying." Koyuki pulled herself over to Natsumi to give her input. Natsumi hadn't spoken to Koyuki very much but it always creeped her out to know that a girl her age was in this place. That they were supposedly just trying to reintegrate her and make her 'normal'. Other people could do that! Not this place...Koyuki could do that on her own with friends.

It was like they were trying to make her obedient.

"However...She hasn't been like herself lately...Not since Yue..." Koyuki got quite and almost sympathetic towards the therapist. She never liked any of the therapists but she wasn't a bad person. She cared about people's feelings. That was part of the reason she had latched onto Dororo early on to take care of him and they had formed a friendship to rival anyone elses in the institution.

Natsumi wanted to ask about Yue, but decided not too. She didn't really need to know all these girls names, nor did she really care. "So...You're Koyuki, right?" Natsumi tried to be kind and smile, "Fuyuki's friend?"

Koyuki nodded. "You're his sister. It's very nice how you visit him. I like you." She pulled her hand out as if she was going to karate chop Natsumi with it instead of handshake. Natsumi had to withdraw her hand a bit so Koyuki could meet it.

"Family sticks by each other." Natsumi nodded. She then bit her lip awkwardly. She didn't know if Koyuki had any family. Was she bragging? _Oooh geez..._

Koyuki noticed her discomfort. "It's all right. It doesn't bother me that I didn't have any biological family. My gang was my family after all." She looked down realizing that they hadn't visited her either though. It probably put them in danger.

"I'm sure you have a family." Natsumi tried to cheer up the girl. "I mean all your friends here are like a family, right? You got..." She pointed to Dororo because she had forgotten his name.

"D-dororo...My name is Dororo." Dororo cried. Why did everybody forget it?

"And you have Fuyuki, Giroro and even that stupid frog looking thing." She was of course referring to Keroro's frog hat. "And I can be your family too. I visit here every weekend after all."

Koyuki sniffled for a moment and threw her arms around Natsumi and gave her a hug, much too tight for comfort. "Oh Natsumi! That's so nice of you! I'll never forget this pact that you've made with me!"

Natsumi was so confused. But she giggled a bit as she tried to wrangle herself free. "Y-you're welcome. I'm glad you're happy, Koyuki."

Geez she was making too many friends here. She wasn't even able to be here that much. But secretly she was happy that she had finally made Koyuki's friendship. It was something she had always wanted, something she felt guilty for not doing.

Koyuki just smiled and Fuyuki grinned. Things were getting more and more normal.

* * *

Natsumi had a fun time hanging out with everyone at lunch, but at the end of it before she was kicked out she went over to get some more cake from the buffet table so she would be able to talk to Giroro alone.

He of course was hanging out there as usual, as if trying not to be too obvious that he wanted to talk to her and wanted her attention. Instead he was just being clumsy and knocking over all sorts of ingredients. It was like he was a human magnet for disarray.

"So...Tell me something, Giroro," Natsumi finally spoke to him.

"...Yes?" Giroro asked hopefully. _Crap! Did she figure out my crush. Her tone sounds so accusing. _But maybe she'd accept his feelings...? He could dream.

After all dreams were all the poor sucker had.

"How's Fuyuki really doing?" Natsumi asked, her voice filled with trust. If there was anyone she trusted for some reason to look after Fuyuki while she was away, it was Giroro, and she enjoyed talking to him about her brother's well being. He was honest and he just looked like he'd protect him.

Maybe it was the scar. _Looks like he got in a bad fight and lost his eyesight. Still he's able to do a lot considering he can only see out of one eye. _Natsumi nodded to herself. He really did look capable.

And for some reason despite not knowing him for very long she trusted him with her most important person- Fuyuki. Giroro didn't know how much trust she had in him.

Giroro looked downcast, wondering what words to choose. He knew selfishly if he told Natsumi about the death of the girl on the fourth floor that she might pull Fuyuki out of the institution. And then he'd never see her again.

But seeing the way she looked at him, like she depended on him for something, made him happy. Like he could offer her something. And that was something he was striving for. He didn't think there was anything he could offer her in his ill state, but he didn't know why Natsumi was depending on him now.

"He's doing...Well. I mean we're all shaking up from what happened this week." Giroro admitted.

"W-what do you mean, what happened this week?" Natsumi asked.

"A girl died. Her name was Yue." Giroro replied.

Natsumi looked shocked. She covered her mouth in a gasp. "Is...Is Fuyuki in danger? I thought the staff were professionals...? Did they mess up?"

"Rumor has it the girl committed suicide. But she showed no signs of suicidal idealization before her death..."

"She was murdered?" Natsumi was even more shocked.

Giroro sighed and looked deeper in shame. "Garuru told me she was dared into licking an electric wall socket. And the idiot apparently fell for it." Garuru had seen the cameras.

What a way to die. Really was a shameful secret.

Natsumi just looked at him blankly. She didn't know what to say about that. She knew that some of the patients there got into some weird business, but...That was weird. "Is Fuyuki sad? Does this effect Fuyuki in any way?"

"Well, here's the thing. She died up in floor four. I...I can only assume what prodded her into licking that wall socket like a lollipop, but apparently this whole dumb hospital has latched onto the idea that the fourth floor kills people and is haunted. Not me of course. I mean I know what's going on here, but...There couldn't be ghosts at all in addition to that. No siree!" Giroro started shivering.

Natsumi giggled a bit. "Aww, you afraid of ghosts or something? Don't worry, same."

Giroro blushed and hid under his collar. "Don't tell anyone."

"I won't." Natsumi promised. _He's cute. _"Anyway...What does floor four have to do with Fuyuki?"

"He thinks it's haunted." Giroro sighed, "And you know how Fuyuki feels about the occult."

Natsumi's eyes widened as she realized what Giroro was implying. Fuyuki might try to explore the fourth floor. "Oh...Oh no...And...And is him going up there...Bad?"

Giroro didn't explain anything but he gave her a small nod.

She grabbed onto Giroro's arm and gripped it, shaking.

"Hey! 15 inches apart if you're of the opposite gender!" A staff member yelled at them like he was a chaperone.

Natsumi withdrew herself. "I...I can't be here to watch him. I can't stop him! I'm in school, I have work...Oh noo...He'll be hurt. Because of his delusions."

"He won't." Giroro told her, wanting desperately to stop her fears. "Fuyuki's a tough kid. He might be deluded and not see reality as it is, but he's smart and observant. He can solve mysteries when they don't have to do with aliens. He'll keep himself out of trouble. And if he doesn't..."

"Will you protect him? Giroro, please...Take care of my brother." Natsumi begged.

Giroro nodded as if he was a knight in shining armor. He hadn't been a good soldier. War wasn't as noble as his mother had led him to believe, but for once he could do the right thing. "I'll protect Fuyuki in your steed. I promise he won't die, Natsumi. He'll be safe."

Natsumi's fears seemed to ease. "Thank you, Giroro."

And just those words were enough for him.

* * *

Fuyuki was still in a glum mood even though his sister had visited that day. He didn't know if it was because on weekends Momoka wasn't around or because the knowledge that someone had died was still looming over him.

It was probably about even. He couldn't tell what was bugging him.

The person who was by far the most upfront to Fuyuki about how bothered they were over Yue's death was Sai though. She had stopped singing and being chatter.

She may have been obnoxious to some of the patients but she really did care about them as if they were her children. And she had never wanted someone to die.

"Are...Are you okay, Sai?" Fuyuki asked. She wasn't leading the therapy session with a sing along. She was just sitting on the couch.

"Maybe you need therapy." Tamama teased.

"Nice one." Keroro high-fived him.

"Heh. Keroro's proud of me." Tamama grinned to himself.

"I really did want to make a difference in her life. I didn't...I didn't know I could make a mistake like that. It was just a mistake...I didn't know the fourth floor was that bad!" Sai whispered.

"It's...It's all right." Fuyuki tried to comfort. He no longer saw the men in white or therapists as weirdos. They were his friends. Like Sai was. "It wasn't your fault."

"You're right! It's never my fault!" Sai perked up. "You know, I've had problems like this before. Mistakes."

"You're responsible for people dying?" Koyuki's eyes widened in horror.

"No, silly!" Sai giggled, "Bad things have happened that I wasn't at fault for. You know the hardest part of my childhood was how everybody loved me too much. I was too beautiful for everyone, the world made me too gorgeous. And people were jealous. But eventually the mistake ran out that they made being jealous and they learned to love me and my kind personality."

"That's...Completely off topic." Giroro didn't care about Sai's (TM) tragic backstory, or what she thought was a tragic back story.

"This is just like then. I had nothing to do with her actions, it didn't have to do with me. I can only control how nice I am." Sai seemed to be completely over her sadness. "I want to remind you all that I love you and care for you as if you were my children, that's why I took this job after all. Because I care about people and want to make them better."

"That's not too horrible of a dream..." Keroro was trying to look at the bright side of Sai.

"That's not my dream. My life dream is to find true love and have be seduced by someone amazing who cares about me and our romance extends to the stars." Sai grinned. "It's hard to fulfill this dream because honestly so many men are competing for me," She trailed off, playing with her hair.

"Don't lie." Keroro frowned. He should be able to tell lies, after all he was a pretty compulsive liar.

"Why are you telling us your dream, Sai?" Dororo asked.

"Well to inspire you. Someday I'll achieve my true dream just like the rest of you and will get married and be happy! You should aspire to brush bad things off like me. Just remember to be more like me. My life was hard too and you don't see me all depressed." Sai tried to give a motivational speech.

"I don't think being too well liked is 'a hard life'." Koyuki said under her breath. She should know what a hard life was having to fight people for food.

Sai frowned. "Fuyuki cares about my goals. He's a good friend unlike you, Koyuki." She pouted, like a child. "Right, Fuyuki?"

"Yeah. I hope you find someone who will understand you one day and like you." Fuyuki's wishes weren't too honest and were mostly out of a plea to make this conversation stop but Sai smiled.

"Thank you, Fuyuki." Sai got out her booklet of what to talk about. She was finally out of her stupor. "Now let's talk about our family and how important family is."

Several people, including Koyuki, Tamama and Giroro groaned.

"Making a family and having another legacy is important too! It's everybody's dream to have children one day." Sai ranted.

By this point everyone was tuning her out. But Fuyuki was pretending to listen.

After all, it didn't matter if his weird, poyon alien space police friend was ditzy and weird. He should listen to her because she was an alien. That and if he didn't the sarge would be taken away for trying one of his classic 'get rich quick schemes'

_Oh that silly alien Sai. _Fuyuki laughed to himself. Sai wasn't helping his mentality at all.

* * *

**Please review.**


	13. Mannequin

**Eyyyy guess who's back? For... one... chapter?**

**That's right it's RunwithscissorsXXXwhatever-the-rest-of-my-username-was!**

**RKBW talked me into writing this chapter because I hadn't given her much to go off of. She was hoping I knew the rest of what would happen this chapter.**

**Truth of the matter was, I didn't. All I knew was the ending.**

**So. Here ya go.**

**-Scissors**

**YAYY! I convinced her to do one more chapter. I hope you enjoy. -Rainbowkittyblossomwings**

* * *

_I'm having an episode,_ thought Fuyuki. _This must be what all the doctors warned me about. I'm really hallucinating._

He stood amidst a floor of clouds, his toes nestling into the soft texture of processed cotton. "This can't be real," he said aloud.

"Zorry, Fuyuki," said Keroro. He sneezed and blew his nose onto several tissues, which he then threw on the floor.

Realizing what he was stepping in, Fuyuki gave a yelp and hopped back on his bed. "G-gross!"

"I dnow," Keroro agreed. "I've gone dhrew probaby seventhy boxes since last ebening."

Fuyuki knit his eyebrows. "You sound like you have a cold, Sarge."

Keroro frowned at the title, but could only give a sneeze in response.

"We should clean the floor," said Fuyuki.

Keroro nodded. "Good idea."

They stared at each other.

"So?"

"I'm sooooooooo sick!" Keroro lay down in bed.

Fuyuki groaned and forced himself to his feet. "Fine, I guess I'll do it."

"Dhank you!" Keroro said with another sneeze.

* * *

Fuyuki was shocked when he went to the cafeteria that morning to see half the crowd infected with sickness. Everyone seemed to be doing horribly. He took his food tray and sat down next to Tamama.

Tamama swiveled his head around and frowned. "Where's Mr. Keroro?"

"He'll be here." Fuyuki shoveled some food into his mouth. "He's kind of sluggish today, though. Think he's got a cold." He looked up. "Where's Momoka?"

"Her butler Paul took her back home," Tamama explained. "After they heard that our group's been hit with sickness—everyone but me, of course, because I'm too cute to get sick—they U-turned back to her manor."

"That's too bad." Fuyuki looked off in the distance. He had been looking forward to spending some time today with Momoka.

Across from him, Keroro set his nearly empty tray down and flopped down into a chair with a groan, grasping his head in his hands.

"Ohhh, Mr. Keroro, you look so horrible," said Tamama.

Keroro delivered a slurred response.

"You're shivering!" he noticed, touching his back. "Wow, look, so am I! Man, this sickness got all of us, huh?"

_Objection! _thought Fuyuki. "Tamama, you just said you—"

Tamama shut him up with a glare. "Ohh Mr. Keroro, we should cuddle to preserve body warmth…."

"Huh…? Whuh?" asked Keroro, but Tamama grabbed him all too quickly.

"Tamama! Aggressive cuddling is not allowed!" some of the staff began to shout. When Tamama refused to listen, the staff attempted to pull them apart. Their strength seemed a little sub-par today. Listening closely, Fuyuki could hear that even _they_ had the sniffles.

The rest of the day was no better. Group therapy with Pururu was a disaster. Mois had feverishly face-planted into the sofa, hogging it from Dororo, who looked scared out of his mind.

"There, there, Dororo," Koyuki comforted. Sniffling, she whispered to Fuyuki, "He hates being sick."

"Makez zense," said Keroro. "All he ever didth as a kid waz get zick." That explained his favoritism of medical masks, Fuyuki supposed.

"No I didn't! Untrue!" Dororo protested. "Slanderrrr!" He threw a weak punch at Keroro. His arm landed on his shoulder like a serene butterfly. Keroro tossed it off.

"No… no fighting," Pururu begged them. She clutched her head. "This is… giving me a headache."

"You're not sick, too, are you?" asked Fuyuki.

"What?" Pururu glanced up. "I'm—No, I'm not sick. I take good care of myself."

"It's okay," said Fuyuki. "You can't help it if you already caught something. Everybody here is sick."

"You're not sick," said Pururu.

He nodded. "I—I suppose I'm not." He reached his hand out to her. "But really. You're not looking well. Maybe you should rest for a little while."

Pururu thought a moment. Then she stood up. "You're absolutely right, Fuyuki. It's important to take care of myself." She pointed her finger at everybody. "Like you all should be taking care of _yourselves_."

"I'm taking care of myself," said Keroro as he lounged around.

"I was actually talking to Koyuki," said Pururu. "C'mon, Koyuki. I appreciate the support you're giving Dororo, but once again, you _cannot_ share pills." She handed her a tissue box. "I can see you're in pain, too."

Koyuki glumly accepted the tissues.

"I'm taking the rest of the day off," said Pururu. "I don't want this disease to spread anymore. I'm going to page in for a new therapist to cover for me, all right?"

"Who?" asked Fuyuki.

"Oh, she's a very sweet girl," said Pururu. "You've had her before. Her name is Sai."

* * *

When Sai and Pururu traded positions, it was just in time, because Fuyuki hadn't ever seen Pururu more worse for wear.

"All right, everyone!" Sai said cheerily. While everyone else was sniffling, Fuyuki had never seen her better. "Let's start off our session today with—Ohhh, dear." She looked around the room at all the sullen faces and pink noses. "I _told_ my boss this is what would happen if they used our budget for vaccinations on the rehab center. You should all be up in the hospital today, not down here where you could spread disease." She grabbed a chair and placed it against the wall, where she could sit the farthest away from everybody. "I'm writing referrals for each and every one of you to go get some medicine in the hospital." She filled something out on a form and then swiped out her keys. "Come on, everyone, let's go to the third floor."

Everyone groaned.

"Do I _have_ to get up?" asked Keroro. Dororo sobbed. And whatever Mois said, no one could hear, because it was muffled by the sofa cushions under her face.

"Yep. Up. All of you." Sai brought her arms up, gesturing for everyone to get off their butts. She began to shuffle them out the door.

"Question." Fuyuki raised his hand. "I'm not sick."

"You'll be soon enough," said Sai. "Besides, I have to keep you all with me as we go up the elevator. I can't have anyone getting lost!"

He shrugged. "I suppose that makes sense."

After visiting the hospital on the third floor, the doctors determined that Fuyuki, Tamama, and Giroro were well enough to continue their regular schedule for the rest of the day. The others, unfortunately, had to stay in the ward or else contaminate the entire institution.

As Sai went down the elevator with the three remaining patients, she breathed a sigh of content. "I sure hope everyone will get better soon. You know, I always feel great after doing a good deed like this."

"Yeah." Giroro snorted. "This sure compensates for letting a kid kill herself."

Sai opened her mouth in horror, no response available.

"No offense, lady, but why would you take this job if you're horrible with all the patients?" asked Tamama.

"I'm _not_," Sai denied. "And I took this job because I want to make a difference in people's lives. Because I'm _good_ at that. I'm good at making people happy."

"And I'm good at knitting flower crowns," said Giroro.

Sai smiled. "You are?"

"_No!_"

Tamama and Giroro burst out laughing.

"I don't see anything wrong with that mantra, Sai," said Fuyuki. He noticed that this was becoming routine for them—everyone would pick on Sai, and Fuyuki would cheer her up. Out of experience, he knew he shouldn't let her run away with her ideas, but he honestly felt sorry for her. Plus, he was still a little interested in what she had to say—she _was_ an alien, after all.

Sai grinned. "Thank you so much, Fuyuki. You know, being able to change a person is a _wonderful_ power," she told him. "And don't forget, you can always change yourself!"

Fuyuki laughed. "Why would I…. Why would I want to change myself?"

"Well, because you're delusional."

Suddenly Fuyuki wanted to stop listening to her.

* * *

"Garuru, would you change yourself if you could?" Fuyuki asked during his individual therapy session that day.

"What?" asked Garuru. "Fuyuki, usually I'm the one asking you quest—"

"Okay, but would you?"

"Well…" Garuru rubbed his neck. "Admittedly there's… a lot I would change."

"You're not happy with yourself?" Fuyuki asked.

"It's not that," said Garuru. "Just… certain things I would do over in my life. I'm sure you have stuff like that, too, right? Let's talk about that—"

"Like what?" asked Fuyuki.

He frowned. "I'd really prefer not to share."

"As you always tell me, it's important to talk about these things."

Garuru sighed. Fuyuki was using his own logic against him. "That's not what I mean. It's very personal. And it's not my place as your therapist to tell you those things."

"Well maybe if you—"

"Fuyuki!" Garuru yelled. "I know you're a curious kid, but please, just… let's move on."

Fuyuki looked down.

Garuru sighed. "I wish—I wish I had a better relationship with Giroro." Silence. "That he wouldn't see me as such a grim reminder of everything horrible in his life." He lowered his face into his hands. "God, it's all my fault…." The last phrase was barely above a whisper.

Fuyuki's lips broke into a smile. "That's so sweet of you. You know, I've always thought you were kind of scary, to be honest—"

"Well, you shouldn't. I'm your therapist."

"—being a rival alien to the Sarge's platoon, and all—"

Garuru's jaw settled and he jotted something down.

"—but it's really great how much you care about Giroro."

His mouth opened slightly. He shut it.

"Giroro's been doing so much better because of you," said Fuyuki. "I can tell you care a lot about him."

"Yes, well." Garuru dismissed the subject. "We're here to talk about you, Fuyuki. Not the relationship between my brother and me." He locked eyes with him. "Is there anything you want to change about yourself? Is that why you asked me that question?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie, I do sometimes wish I wasn't such a weakling." Fuyuki laughed nervously. "It's kind of embarrassing sometimes. I always get this heavy sense of dread before we have to do mandatory exercise."

"Ah. Yes. Sense of dread. I can definitely understand," Garuru agreed. "Whenever I'm taking the elevator up to the top…."

"What? To Floor 4?" Fuyuki gasped. "I thought no one was allowed to go up there!"

"Um, Fuyuki, I'm a _therapist_. I go up there all the time. It's part of my job," Garuru told him.

Fuyuki couldn't believe he hadn't learned this till now. "Well, what's it like up there? Is it deadly? Dangerous?"

"The rumors you hear about it are mostly false," said Garuru. "There's not much danger to it anymore. Mostly it's just a pain. Patients aren't trained to deal with our very complicated security system up there, or its, uhh, _other_ features, so that's why they're not allowed up there," he explained. "Any doctor or therapist in their right mind wouldn't wish that upon anyone."

"But Yue—Didn't she die on the fourth floor?" asked Fuyuki. "Isn't it haunted?"

"No, but I _wish_ that's what it was." Garuru let his hands fall into his lap. "There are research labs up there. That's why access is restricted. Not because it's haunted or anything."

Fuyuki frowned. That sounded a lot more boring than what he had thought.

* * *

"Giroro, I _really_ want to see what's up on Floor 4," Fuyuki told Giroro at lunch.

Giroro broke into a coughing fit. "Not unless you _die_. That place is dangerous."

"Garuru told me it wasn't," Fuyuki said with a frown. None of these stories seemed to match up.

"Fuyuki, I made a promise to your sister that I wouldn't let you get hurt," Giroro told him. "And if you go to Floor 4, _you will get hurt_. There is no way out of that. My soul withers if I breathe the _air_ up there."

Fuyuki pictured a number of things. Noxious gas? Swinging axes? Reruns of _Food Fight_?

"So you have to make a promise to me that you'll never try to go up there," Giroro said with a glare.

"But I—"

"Do it!"

"Fine! I promise," Fuyuki agreed.

"Good," he said. "That—" Suddenly, he broke into another coughing fit before he could finish his sentence.

"Are you okay, Giroro?" Fuyuki asked. "Maybe you'd better get some water."

"Yeah, I"—_cough_—"think I'll do that." Giroro stood up out of his chair and took a step.

Then he collapsed on the ground.

"Aaah!" Fuyuki yelled.

Hearing the commotion, several staff rushed over to help. Among them was Garuru.

"Giroro! Are you all right?" he shouted, dragging Giroro off the floor.

Shaking, Giroro steadied himself on the back of a chair. "Think I'll be okay. Just—just need some water."

"Giroro, you need to go to the hospital right this instant," Garuru insisted.

"No, _you_ need to go to the hospital!" Giroro pushed him. He started pointing wildly at several other staff members. "And _you_ need to go and _you _need to go and…"

"Come on, Giroro. Let's go right away." Garuru whipped out his elevator keys. Just then, another doctor rushed up to them.

"We need all available staff down in the courtyard!" said the doctor. "_Massive_ contagious puking. No time to dawdle. We need everyone out of there."

"But I—" Garuru gestured to Giroro.

"You especially, Garuru! You're the fiercest therapist we have. If those kids'll listen to anyone, it's you," said the doctor.

Garuru sighed and rubbed his neck as the staff around him rushed off. He looked at Giroro swaying about. Then he looked at Fuyuki. "Can I trust you?"

Fuyuki gulped. "I can't—"

"Fuyuki. We're horribly understaffed today. Half our people are out sick." Garuru's eyes were pleading. "Somebody _needs_ to take Giroro up to the hospital. He won't last much longer." He handed him the elevator keys. "You're the only one I can trust."

Fuyuki looked between Garuru and his brother. His eyes shone and he clenched the keys in his fist. "I understand. I'll do it." He knew how much Garuru cared for his brother.

"Thank you," Garuru whispered. He gave Fuyuki a pat on the shoulder and rushed off to help in the courtyard.

Fuyuki tossed Giroro's arm around his shoulders and escorted him up to the hospital in floor 3. It was good timing, too, because Giroro collapsed again the second they were out of that elevator.

"Not another one," the doctors groaned when they saw him sprawled out on the floor. "Fifteenth time today, I swear…." They quickly picked him up and hauled him off on a wheelchair.

Fuyuki looked around. Garuru was right—there weren't nearly as many doctors today as he normally saw. Whatever this sickness was that was going around, it must have been nasty.

Everybody seemed busy, so Fuyuki quickly hopped back into the elevator so as not to bother them. His finger hovered over the "1" button with a star on it. He dropped his hand and glanced down at the elevator keys he held. _I have restricted access to the top two floors…._

_No!_ he thought to himself. _I made a promise to Giroro who made a promise to my sister. I won't go up there._

_But… would it really be such a crime if he never found out? Nobody's bound to notice, after all…. The building's pretty empty of staff today._

He held the keys shakily in his hand over the key slot by the button temptress labeled "4." He was dying to know what was up there—what was really going on. There was a mystery on Floor 4 and he wanted to solve it. He didn't care how dangerous this mission would be. _Paranormal investigators go on risky investigations like these all the time!_

What did he have to lose, anyway?

Fuyuki jammed the key in the slot and smashed the button. Immediately, the elevator started rising.

The doors opened up and Fuyuki stepped out into a dark hallway. A strange mustiness hung in the air like something died in the ventilation and hadn't been cleaned in years. It was humid, but it was cold too, and Fuyuki had to hug himself to stop himself from freezing to death. Maybe it was the air. Or maybe it was the atmosphere. Not to be discouraged by such, he continued onward.

Walking forward, Fuyuki could tell this wasn't a regular floor. For one thing, there were security cameras _everywhere_. It made him feel naked. The hallway was weirdly _wide_, and the floor was made of this weird, shiny metal that was grooved in some places, like there should have been screws in it, but there weren't. He opened some doors every now and then to see what was in the rooms, and he was amazed to find some alien-looking machines.

"So _that's_ why they wouldn't let us up on this floor," Fuyuki realized. "They wanted to hide evidence of alien machinery!"

And if there was alien tech on this floor, that meant aliens couldn't be too far off!

Excitedly, Fuyuki zoomed down the hallways, knocking open every door that was unlocked. The entire floor was ominously empty. Each room was more and more fascinating. Some had large tables, some had intricate diagrams of human anatomy, and some had vast assortments of jars and chemicals and file cabinets that spanned forever.

"I wonder what _this_ room has!" Fuyuki said as he pressed his face up against the large window of a dimly lit room. The lights flickered and he suddenly had a better view of it. Within lay a strange-looking mannequin, wearing a straitjacket and restrained against a stand-up metal table. Through the window, Fuyuki tried to get a better view of the room. Many small lights adorned various machines on the ceiling, all of which connected to the mannequin's head via wires.

Satisfied with his inspection, Fuyuki walked off in search of more interesting things.

"Hnng…" went a sound behind him.

Fuyuki turned around and walked back to the window where the mannequin was. He looked around the room. It had to come from here, because he saw small holes through the window.

"Hnng," said the mannequin.

Fuyuki's head shot up. _A talking mannequin! Now that's occult!_

But this mannequin did more than that. It began to writhe about in its jacket. Fuyuki now noticed the restraint mask and its messy hair, tangled up in the bandages wrapped around its ears.

_This can't be a person, can it?_ Fuyuki wondered. Why would they be keeping a person on the fourth floor? Floor 4 was supposed to be dangerous!

He wondered if the person knew. "Hey—" he called out.

The person stilled, drooping his head. Fuyuki relaxed. Then his head snapped up, startling Fuyuki. He fell painfully on his rear as the one in the room jerked his head about—until the restraint mask ripped off and clattered to the floor. Slowly, he raised his face and locked eyes with Fuyuki. A malicious grin spread over his lips.

"Y-you're not supposed to be up here," Fuyuki spoke. "It's dangerous on Floor 4, don't you know—"

"The only one who's in danger here," spoke the person before him, "is _you_, Fuyuki Hinata."

A chill ran down his spine. Those eyes, that grin, struck fear into his heart. And—_How does he know my name?_

"Who are you? What is this place?" Fuyuki asked.

"Why don't you come inside, and you can find out," the person in the room offered.

But that was when Fuyuki realized it.

"So it's true," he realized. "I—I have to go."

Immediately, Fuyuki darted off toward the elevator. He took it down to the first floor and ran back to the cafeteria, past all the staff who told him over their shoulders, "No running!" He shoved the elevator keys in Garuru's hand and searched for the table he usually sat at. It was nearly deserted, save for Tamama. Panting, Fuyuki placed his hands on the table and leaned over to catch his breath.

"It couldn't have taken you that long to take Giroro to the hospital," Tamama said, sipping quizzically on a glass of coke.

"That's because," Fuyuki panted, "because…" He leaned in. "…I went to the _fourth floor._"

Tamama practically spit his drink across the room. "You _WHAT_?!"

He lowered his voice, seeing that everyone was staring now. "You what?"

Fuyuki stared off into the distance, a surreal look on his face. Tamama slapped his cheek. "You went to the fourth floor? How are you not dead?"

"There was a person up there." The words crept out of his mouth.

"A person? Like, a patient?" Tamama gasped.

Fuyuki nodded.

Tamama leaned in, interested now. "…Who?"

Fuyuki gave another far-off look, processing the information of what he saw up there. Who it was.

"It was… the Sergeant Major."


	14. Manipulated Easily

**Originally Kululu was actually going to appear and talk in this chapter. But the chapter was getting too long and I was lazy and when I checked my sister's chapter summary about what was originally going to happen next chapter it was literally the words "I'm so vague for myself." And pretty much nothing.**

**So I moved Kululu's scenes to the next chapter.**

* * *

_That's what was wrong! _Fuyuki was enthusiastic the rest of the week. _That's what felt missing, it must have slipped my mind that the sergeant major wasn't around. _Fuyuki had always remembered the yellow keronian being part of the sarge's group. But the little creep hadn't been around lately. In fact nobody spoke about him. Fuyuki had just assumed they didn't want to talk about him.

Of course, everybody else was getting sick and tired of hearing Fuyuki talk about this 'sergeant major' and adventures that they had never heard of, least of all been to. Most everybody was healed after their hospital trip now except Angol Mois, who Fuyuki had heard was having trouble leaving her bed.

"_The doctors keep trying to pull her out, but she's pretty much chained herself to the pole." _Fuyuki remembered Keroro telling him.

Oh well, too bad for her. She just couldn't hear about his excited buzzing about the sergeant major.

Even Momoka was getting tired of it. She didn't know who or what Fuyuki was talking about. _Is it another woman? Who is this supposed sergeant major? _She thought to herself.

"Fuyuki, slow down." Giroro ordered, while taking a macho bite of a carrot, tearing it off as if it was a hunk of meat. "We really don't care about your adventures to other countries or against alien technology."

Fuyuki looked glum. "I guess that makes sense. I mean you were there for all those adventures."

"I am confused by who you mean though, the 'sergeant major'. I was kind of out of it after you dropped me off in the hospital. Did you meet some new staff member?" Giroro was trying, and making an effort to understand Fuyuki. For Natsumi's sake. He just couldn't translate anything about who the heck this guy was.

Fuyuki looked confused for a moment as he tried to recollect his thoughts. "That guy on the fourth floor." _I guess the fourth floor finally makes sense now...Maybe the sarge put the base on the roof instead of in the basement? He used to live under my house, but I guess he lives on top of it now? Doesn't really matter much to me._

Giroro looked horrified and started for a moment. "T-that...That guy on the fourth floor? You...You mean you went up there?" He had been trusted with one noble job and he had failed it. Natsumi had depended on him. Trusted him. And he had betrayed her trust.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Tamama rolled his eyes, annoyed, "Fukki went up to the fourth floor and survived!"

"Ummm...You haven't told that to us at all. As soon as I came back from the doctor's you started being all clingy and affectionate for some odd reason." Keroro corrected.

It seemed like anything important had slipped Tamama's mind in favor of being lovey-dovey with Keroro while Angol Mois wasn't around to ruin it. But he still wanted to take credit for believing himself to be part of the conversation.

"Yep. I went up there." Fuyuki nodded. "It wasn't dangerous though."

"Wait...Wait a minute...There's a guy on the fourth floor?" Koyuki was confused, "You mean like a patient? But...I thought all the patients were in groups down here." She glanced at Dororo for more information.

"W-what? I know nothing about this either." Dororo replied.

"But you've been here longer than me." Koyuki pointed out.

"He hallucinates though. He wouldn't know right from left while he's high. He thinks there are trees indoors." Keroro whispered.

Dororo frowned. Just because he was high most of the time didn't mean he wasn't smart. And it didn't mean they had to not include him in the conversation.

"But...If anybody was asking my opinion," Keroro chimed in, "I also didn't know there was a guy up there. Are you sure, Fuyuki? I mean...That doesn't sound as scary as everybody else is making it out to be. I mean we're all mental patients here. We know we're not scary." Keroro laughed.

Momoka nodded in agreement. "If he was just violent he would have been down here with us. I hate to disbelieve you but even I haven't been told much about the fourth floor. Just to not go up there. Are you sure there was someone up there."

"Positive! And he knew my name because we've known each other! He's part of your platoon. Don't you remember him?" Fuyuki's story just got wilder and wilder.

Everybody sighed except Giroro. Giroro was polishing his forks and knives. Although most of them used chopsticks at the Hinata House for some reason Garuru had insisted that Giroro use different utensils. Even though Garuru had been born and raised Japanese. Rumors went around that Garuru was a bit of a failure and didn't know how to use chopsticks and was trying to get others to stop using them to conceal the fact.

"Actually...There is someone up there..." Giroro sighed, "And he's just as annoyingly dangerous as the rumors go. I can believe 100% that he was responsible for killing Yue. He probably was such a little jerk that Yue was like 'anything is better than this'. That or he manipulated her into doing something incredible stupid. He's pretty good at doing that." Giroro admitted.

"Umm...Anyone is good at manipulating you into doing stupid things." Keroro pointed out.

Giroro glared at him. His eyes said '_Want to die?' _Keroro backed off.

"So...The rumors of the danger of the fourth floor were just about this patient?" Koyuki was confused. "He can't be that bad."

Giroro looked like he was deep in thought for a moment. "He's a danger level 10. Obviously the staff is scared of him and he can easily get in your head. But I would say the real horror about him is that he's annoying. He's so annoying that I can believe every word that it's a good idea for us to not be around him. Apparently he's incredibly smart or something and can figure out the easiest way to break you mentally and then kill you. And he doesn't even do it for a reason. It's just fun for him, like he's entertaining himself in this place by making us all his play things."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he knew everything that was going on in this place even though he's locked away. I think he fashions himself the king of here, controlling us and puppeteering us as he pleases. That's why he has to be locked away." Giroro explained. "He's...He's killed a lot more people here than anyone else. Even when he's locked up he's still able to kill. And if you survive an encounter talking to him, it's because he wants something out of you. Like for you to be his plaything, his entertainment. He wants any progress you made to just disappear in a flash. He likes to bring down others."

Everybody listened to Giroro's mysterious words. Although they hadn't really been afraid of this patient before, they got more and more afraid. If Giroro seemed unnerved by him it had to be true.

"Wait...Wait a minute...How do you know him?" Keroro accused Giroro. Giroro seemed to know a lot about him.

"I..." Giroro hid his face in shame. "Had group therapy with him a few years back. They thought it would be helpful if he had some social interaction and since I was the patient who made the least progress in this place and was pretty dangerous myself I was the sacrifice. Needless to say our therapist mysteriously 'died' and it didn't end well." Giroro sighed. "That's a month of my life that I would like back. He just got creepier and creepier and scarier each day."

"What did he do specifically?" Dororo prodded for more details.

Giroro blushed, ashamed. He didn't want to tell them all the stupid things that he had blown up over and all the times he had been told 'they'll let you out of this place if you run around in only your underwear' and for some reason believed it. He was an idiot back then. He hoped he had grown. "Uhh...Nothing important."

He hated that little jerk more than anything.

"What's important is that Fuyuki doesn't go back up there. You don't have the appeal I had. The quick and useful temper. He'll grow bored of you and then you'll be dead. Not only him, but...It's dangerous up there." Giroro didn't get into other details. He put his hand on Fuyuki's shoulder.

Fuyuki saw terror flicker in Giroro's eyes and he didn't know why.

"Promise me you won't go up there again? And promise me you won't tell anyone you went there?" Giroro requested.

Fuyuki sighed. "Okay...Fine..." Even he remembered the adrenaline rush of nervousness and terror at seeing the sergeant major.

"Giroro...? There's one thing I don't understand about your story." Koyuki admitted.

Giroro glanced over.

"How did you get out of therapy with him? You obviously don't do it now." Koyuki pointed out.

"He got me chained up in my bed for a week." Giroro confessed. "He...He drove me into such a large blow up that I caused massive damage to the therapy room. I was punished severely and the staff had to monitor me and chain me up. Apparently...Apparently I almost let him out into the world. He almost escaped."

There was silence. What would the world be like if that creep was out there?

"So he was using you the entire time." Keroro realized. "He found your anger as something he could turn on and use to make an escape." As a massive manipulator himself he realized now how dangerous the patient on floor four was if he could read people like that and slowly over a month's time chip away at them with only hours and hours of lonesome time to plan for the perfect strategy of escape.

There wasn't a patient up there. There was a monster.

"What's his name? I mean he's obviously not the sergeant major." Tamama laughed.

"Kululu. But just saying it leaves a bad taste in my mouth." Giroro shuddered. The bad taste was mouthwash. He didn't know how Kululu had manipulated someone from the staff to switch his mouthwash with shoe polish but he had. Sometimes Giroro suspected that Kululu liked to check up on him if he was doing all right. Then he liked to destroy that.

They nodded and ended the conversation there. That was one mystery solved.

* * *

Although Fuyuki didn't tell anyone about how he had been on floor four, the staff found out. After all Kululu's room was constantly monitored by security cameras.

And they were both furious and concerned.

"Are you all right?" They nervously chattered around Fuyuki.

"Never ever go up there again."

"You won't sue, right? Right? What did you see? What are your thoughts. I think we'll have to have you in therapy the whole day to repair you." Others asked.

They all crowded around Fuyuki. And Fuyuki wasn't sure why. Was everybody really that concerned that the sergeant major would kill him or something?  
Oh wait, he could believe that.

"You." They finally pointed at Garuru accusingly. "You gave him the elevator key! And with the Yue issue so recent."

Garuru paled. His hands started shaking. He realized as he looked at Fuyuki's unwitting and optimistic face that Fuyuki was not responsible, and he should have never ever put Fuyuki in that position.

He recalled scolded Sai about making mistakes. He had refereed to it as 'for the people who made mistakes' like he didn't make them.

He had believed he was better than the rules. Just like Sai did. And Fuyuki could have ended up dead because of him.

"I'm..." What could he say? Sorry? He couldn't apologize to Fuyuki for something like this. The damage was over and done with. _Just like Giroro. Just like I can't apologize to Giroro. _

"You didn't follow protocol." Garuru's boss scolded him. "When your brother is involved it's like all thought flies out of your head. Perhaps you shouldn't be so involved with the therapists and staff who manage Giroro's case."

Garuru's face drained of color. The whole reason he had become a therapist was so he could help Giroro's case even better. Be closer to his brother. Although his time with Giroro was limited thanks to his job, he did try to visit him more than normal visits were allowed, to talk to him during meals and rise up in the ranks so he could find the best therapists and staff for him and command them. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again." Garuru replied. Weak, unimportant lines. He had messed up.

"Of course it won't happen again." Garuru's boss told him, "Because if you don't treat all patients the same, don't give Giroro certain privilege over the others, you will be fired." The words were cold.

Garuru tried not to show fear, or worry. "You need me. I'm the only staff member who has survived this long with..._him. _You have me pretty much as the only staff member having direct contact with patient Jaune." He refereed to the patient by their last name, but he was obviously referring to the monster on the fourth floor.

Garuru must have been Kululu's primary caretaker.

"We'll start training a replacement just in case the need arises then." The boss said simply. "Remember, you are my employee. You do not hold a higher authority than me." He didn't take kindly to Garuru implying that he was needed, that he was not replaceable.

Garuru grit his teeth but a smile shined. "They won't survive the week."

Fuyuki had to pity whoever was being assigned to look after Kululu.

* * *

"You? This has to be a joke." Garuru looked at who would take up the duty of seeing if they could handle looking after Kululu

"I heard about the trouble you got in." Sai's voice was sweet, "I'm sorry. I know I made the same mistake as you, but I of all people will know not to judge you. I'm just glad Fuyuki's okay." Her words were a lot kinder than anyone else's and considering that Garuru had chewed her out the worst it was surprising.

It was like she was forgiving him and being the better person.

Garuru grunted for a moment and nodded. He might not have liked Sai's therapy techniques or believed in them at all but she was a good person. "Good luck." He offered his hand as if he was giving her a farewell handshake. "You'll need it."

"No patient is hopeless." Sai said optimistically. "I'll get through to him."

And with that she marched into the den of the monster. The room on the fourth floor.

She had heard stories about the fourth floor patient, but if anybody could change someone it was her.

She believed in herself. And she believed that her time with Kululu would be worthwhile. There was nothing about this she was afraid of.

* * *

**Please continue to support this fic by reviewing. I always love to hear your thoughts.**


	15. Clashing Colors

**This entire chapter is Kululu centric. To better show you his character since he's gotten less story time than the rest of the characters.**

* * *

The greatest sin of the Hinata House was how boring it was. The little rats that ran around in it, sticking to a polite world of schedules, it was such a boring little thing. Everything remained the same like a dollhouse. The dolls were always in the same place and their personalities were easy to read.

He was better than that. Better than this place. Kululu didn't belong here.

_Pity though, I don't have any plans for the day. _He thought to himself. He might have been chained up, restrained, even unable to talk at times but if there was one thing he had it was plans.

Plans were far more important than dignity. And usually he had plans within plans of how to entertain himself, whether it be his latest plan for escape (which he had just about run out of, he had tried everything in the book and the Hinata House was surprisingly persistent in keeping him intact) or playing the interesting and fun game of 'how many people can I kill before getting caught?'.

Both of his favorite past times had run their course though. The last staff member he had killed besides that stupid girl Yue was a dull three months ago. He had figured out how to change the pitch on his laugh, something that he was still able to do even with his mask on, to a frequency and pitch that it had burst their ear drums. The internal bleeding had ruptured something in their brain and they had died.

Now on rare occasions his mouth was stuffed with cotton during the nights so he didn't do that again.

His last escape plan had died around the time his darling little guinea pig had. It had been to rile up the patient Giroro until he exploded, forcing him to lash out in anger to maul him so that that the staff would have to bring Kululu to a place less suited for him- the hospital, to fix him. Unfortunately he had been caught and sent straight back to the Hinata house.

_How dull. I suppose I'll just have to let something new fall into my traps. Like a fly in a web. _Plenty of stupid people came up to the fourth floor. Patients from the first floor who had heard rumors, thought they would survive. And usually none of them did save for a few rare cases.

The boy, Fuyuki Hinata, who had visited a week ago, had survived for one. Maybe it was because of the fact that he looked so scared that he had almost pissed himself. Kululu wanted to laugh at that pathetic display.

Still there was a decent amount of common sense to not come in to his...room? Cage? Lair? It was the den of a monster. That was all he knew.

_I wonder if he'll come back. _Kululu thought to himself. _Fuyuki Hinata. The boy with such grand delusions he believes aliens exist. _Idly Kululu's mind flipped through the files he had memorized on group A.

The staff sure had been mad when they learned he had the ability to hack into their computer systems and read everybody's files from his headphones when he was bored.

Kululu's eyes skittered over the wires thrown around the room, connecting to the walls like some sort of mess. They might have chained him there but they were also useful sometimes.

_Who knew one of my greatest inventions as a child they'd wire into the walls? _Maybe it hadn't been the greatest idea to modify his brain and insert headphones into and wiring to improve his ability with technology, but also his processing speed. It had certainly been taken advantage of plenty of times to chain him there.

But wires were a two-way thing. And if they intended to take advantage of him, he'd do the same to them.

"Good morning patient Kululu Jaune!" A sing song voice opened the door and the harsh light from the outside hallway glared in Kululu's eyes.

He wasn't used to it, and as usual he repelled away from the hallway light. The girl standing in the hallway didn't look like a therapist that he had ever seen, much less read about. What kind of therapist had pink streaks in their hair?

_Where's Garuru? I like playing with him and annoying him. _Kululu thought to himself.

"My name is Sai Uru. I'm here to...Well, I wanted to get to know you better. They wanted to see if I could help make progress on your case!" The girl was peppy, kind.

Kululu hated peppy and kind.

_I guess this one will have to do. Boy do I like breaking people. _Kululu smiled beneath his mask, his glasses glinting in a malicious way. Something had finally just dropped into his lap, entertainment.

He was going to send this righteous therapists attitude back to whatever planet she hailed from. She obviously hadn't met him before and realized what kind of trouble she was in.

"Before I do your normal doctors examination to start off your morning, how about I sing you a morning song?" Sai offered.

Kululu didn't move. He just waited for whatever she was going to do. It was better to try to figure her out before making a move. Then, and only then could he break her. After all, observation was a key part of the scientific adventure.

Sai took this to mean she was making newfound progress with Kululu that nobody else had thought of doing. _"What a lovely morning! Let's sing to the birds and the chikadees!" _She started singing a lot.

Kululu didn't tune her out. Instead he focused on how off-tune she was and started rocking around to make noise, just to annoy her at every little climax of her song. Every note that she tried to get down perfectly.

She frowned. "Okay, temperature time." She unhooked Kululu's mask to put the thermometer in his mouth.

_Guess she was so dumb that she took the old fashioned thermometer. Garuru always took a different one so he didn't have to talk to me. _Kululu realized. She must have been a newbie. She probably didn't even know there were different types of thermometers and they didn't all have to go in the mouth.

"Ku, ku, ku. I can see why you're a therapist." Kululu started talking.

Sai smiled brightly. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Because you obviously couldn't make it singing! Man, that was the worst thing I've ever heard. And I don't even have ears properly anymore!" Kululu was a classic jerk. Blunt and didn't hold anything back.

Sai's eyes grew teary as if Kululu would stop picking on her if she teared up. Like someone with his morals would care about her. She rudely shoved the thermometer in his mouth and got the cuffs ready to take his blood pressure. "You're just trying to be mean to make yourself feel better."

She took the thermometer out so he could apologize.

"If I sung like you, I'd tell myself that too." Kululu admitted. "You should count yourself lucky that you can't hear your voice how it actually sounds."

"My voice is very attractive!" Sai replied getting the rest of her doctor's examination tools ready, pressing a button on his upright bed so it would weigh him and measure his height. "Plenty of people have told me that."

"Like your mother? That doesn't count. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu laughed again wickedly as Sai tried to process someone being so mean to her.

She tried to play it cool. Be the better person. She tried to change the subject. "Is it all right if I skip the blood draw? I'm kind of afraid of blood. Isn't that cute and girly? It's the classic thing for a girl like me to say." She boasted.

Kululu rolled his eyes. She was annoying but he wasn't annoyed by her. These sort of people were the most fun to break. The most satisfying. The ones who were way too egotistical. "Sure thing. After all, by the end of today I'm sure you'll see a lot of blood." His voice was low. He adjusted it to be its usual frightening tone to unnerve people.

Sai jumped back, caught off guard by the change in atmosphere. The lights that had just been turned on flickered for a moment- a coincidence, but it almost sent Sai screaming.

"W-what do you mean?" Sai asked.

"I thought I was obvious. By the end of today you'll be lying on the ground, bleeding out and dead. Do you doubt I can do it?" Kululu asked.

Sai gave a frightened nod.

"I've been to over fifty different institutions just like this one over the course of my life. I've been contained to the best of the staff's ability since I was six. And no matter how hard they try I still get away with killing people. Do you know how many people I've killed while I was institutionalized? No?" Kululu glanced down at Sai, who was now on the floor shivering a bit, shaking her head. "Over two thousand, at least. That's 40 per institution for someone who I can tell isn't the greatest at math." Kululu mocked. "That's more than the sub-par 500 I killed before I was locked away. Ku, ku, ku. So of course I have the capability of killing you. Don't even think for a second that even though I'm the one in chains you're the one in power in this situation."

Sai looked like she'd run away screaming. She dropped Kululu's pills- probably pointless anyway, they obviously weren't helping him be any less terrible, and ran out of the room and slammed the door.

He had scared her off.

"Hmmm...Five minutes. New record." Kululu said excitedly to himself. Still, she was staff, and she wasn't dead yet. So she'd be forced to come back.

He was just glad to have that damn mask off.

* * *

Sai did come back. She was too unnerved to feed him breakfast, so Kululu had to skip- someone as chained up as him of course couldn't eat breakfast on his own, it was dangerous, but she did come back at 9:30 for his usual scheduled therapy with Garuru.

"I'm...I'm sorry I got frightened. That wasn't very professional of me. I realized that was unlike me. Patients just like to make ghost stories of this place. I of course know you aren't dangerous." Sai didn't look like she was convinced of her own words.

She however still believed that if anybody could change Kululu it was her. So she pulled up a chair and sat in front of him.

"Let's talk about our encounter in the morning. How did it make you feel?" Sai asked, hoping to do what she really shined at- therapy.

"Didn't make me feel much of anything. You aren't worth wasting my feelings on." Kululu told her. Really it made him feel powerful. But he wasn't telling her that.

Sai frowned. "Well, I hope as we learn more about each other, you'll trust me enough to show me your feelings." She tried to be polite.

"Of course." Kululu's voice was no longer low and scary, but sophisticated and almost sensual in a way. "After all I would always be happy to describe in detail all the different ways I plan to have you gut yourself. Or how it feels to smell a rotting corpse, what it looks like-" He paused, keeping to his tone of voice.

Sai was looking rather nauseous. "Let's change the subject, shall we?" She smiled. "Ummmm...Do you have any friends? You talk to Garuru often! What about imaginary friends? Even those are okay."

"Better question- Do you have any friends?" Kululu restated her question to be annoying. "Oh wait, I already know the answer to that, it's a no. If you had friends they wouldn't let you wear that outfit." He dissed.

Sai gasped. "How would you know anything about fashion? This outfit is fine! You haven't been out in the real world for 11 years!"

"And yet I still know that your colors are clashing." Kululu sighed, "I would really see this as more of a problem on your part than mine. You're such a failure."

Sai frowned as she looked at her outfit. Was it really that terrible?

"Why do you pick on me so much? Is it to make yourself feel better?" Sai asked accusingly.

"Nah, for once, I'm letting you be special. I thought you'd be happy that someone's paying attention to you. I bet nobody else does." Kululu remarked.

Sai frowned some more. She wasn't even writing notes on her paper. She was just annoyed. "How about we sing a friendship song?"

She tried that, but Kululu just laughed and laughed.

She even tried sock puppets but even that failed her. Kululu began reciting science that sounded almost right about why the sock puppet was alive and sentient and how she was hurting it.

This of course ended with her worming her hand out of the sock puppet, leaving the room and screaming from his fake science.

"Ku, ku, ku." This was easier than he expected.

* * *

Yet again he didn't see Sai again for a while. Garuru did come in briefly to help him with his normal tasks.

His schedule was pretty strict. At 10:30 was his supervised bathroom break.

10:45 used to be group therapy but was now empty, he didn't do anything.

12:00 was his lunch break and another supervised bathroom break. Garuru had to feed him.

For five minutes at 1:30 he got a supervised phone call. Recently this privilege had been receded when it was revealed that he used those five minutes to not call up family, but prank call Garuru's boss's wife and impersonate Garuru and hit on her.

3:00-4:00 of course was his least favorite time. Mandatory exercise which was supervised. He was moved to a pole where he was chained with a leash. Moving was the worst.

He disliked 4:00-6:15 but it had stopped fazing him. He put up a cold facade.

6:15 was dinner and another bathroom break. 6:45-8:15 was doctor's appointments.

8:15-9:00 was empty or a 'supervised break'

Kululu didn't see Sai again until 9:00 pm, or lights out when he was being stuffed full of cotton so he wouldn't laugh. As they were putting the oxygen hook on his nose in case he choked, she popped in.

"I survived. So I'm better than you expected." Her peppy attitude was back, and she was enthusiastic. "Now...We can start developing our friendship and you can trust me. I'm sorry I left all day to prove you wrong."

Kululu couldn't reply or answer.

"Mark my words, Kululu, I will change you. Because I have the power to change people. Even jerks like you will become nice."

She smiled at him. A smile that Kululu didn't dislike. It seemed dumb and useful. Something he could break.

"I am your salvation, Kululu." Sai egotistically told him. She turned away believing this full-heartedly and left.

_Ku. So that's the sort of person she is. The sort of 'wannabe Mary Sue' _He thought.

Well, the whole salvation think was very obnoxious and deserved to be proven wrong. And Kululu was just the sort of person who would do that.

He had never thought of himself on the side of justice, but maybe getting rid of Sai was something of a favor for the rest of the world.

Either way he knew the type of person she was now. And he could easily pull at her strings until she did and reacted in any way that he wanted.

New people being added into his world was always a welcome change. Because he always liked to just as easily dismiss them.


	16. Tea Party

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

**When looking at the chapter summary I was like "What boring thing happens this chapter?" And then I saw it...The beacon of hope that marks all my stories as mine. Kurumois.**

**Because I promise you, even in this story that will be a thing. Because now that my sister is kind of gone from the creative process she can't stop me from filling this story to the brim with shipping fuel!**

**Mwahahaha!**

* * *

Angol Mois wasn't really that sick. She just wanted to sleep. But eventually fifteen staff members were able to haul her out of bed. She ripped at the hospital sheets as they forced her back down to the first floor.

"Welcome back, Mois!" Keroro eagerly smiled at her return. It was hard to do his emotional health forms on his own.

"Mr. Keroro! It's good to be back." Although with Fuyuki's stories she had developed the habit of calling him 'Uncle' like she had in his stories, being away for a week had made the habit drop. Not just that but she didn't see Fuyuki much anymore either since she was always hiding out and doing better things.

It wasn't that she didn't like him, it was just that she didn't feel a strong sense of friendship from him. He wasn't really her true friend. He just liked talking to her because he thought she believed him. But she knew their stories didn't match up. She knew that Keroro wasn't an alien.

"Ugh...Why couldn't you go to the fourth floor instead of Fuyuki?" Tamama groaned, holding onto Keroro's arm.

A staff member in the back tried to pry Tamama off with a pole. It didn't do much good. That staff member must have become used to his job.

"Fuyuki went to the fourth floor?" Mois asked, a bit out of the loop. There was something unsettling about that information that flickered on her face. It wasn't fear or concern for Fuyuki though. Instead it was this odd mixture of jealousy. _I thought I was the only one who went up there and survived. I thought that place was my secret place._

Fuyuki nodded in the background. "And I saw the sergeant Major too! But I promised Giroro I wouldn't go up there again. I don't really want to." Fuyuki laughed nervously.

Mois frowned. "Sergeant Major?"

"Kululu. He's a patient up there. Sorry that you're a bit out of the loop today, Mois." Koyuki explained to her.

"That's what you get for sleeping away your week, woman!" Tamama teased.

Mois didn't really reply. Whatever surprise was supposed to be registered on her face made everybody disappointed because she just said a casual, "Oh that makes sense. Fuyuki does like nicknames."

They sighed that she didn't contribute any more to their speculations and conversation.

* * *

They saw Angol Mois less than normal that day. In fact she had been sleeping more than usual going missing and hiding away.

What they didn't know was that she had somehow managed to find a route to the fourth floor, as weird and random as she was.

She opened the door to the room with the danger signs and with the man in the mask locked up in there.

Immediately once the person saw her they started writhing around struggling.

"Oh! You want the mask off, don't you?" Angol Mois smiled. She casually walked closer and unhooked Kululu's mask, dropping it to the floor. She had memorized his schedule and he should have been on one of his empty time slots or 'breaks'. This risked her less of running into a therapist.

"I'd hope you wouldn't come back. Every day I think to myself 'maybe you won't come back' a hopeful idea of course, but hope is sometimes the only thing someone has. But every time you come back." Kululu sighed. "ku." His laugh was sad and resigned.

Angol Mois ignored him. "What's new with you?"

Kululu didn't know if he should reply. Feeding information just made her worse. More peppy, more chattery. And unlike Sai there was no way to read Angol Mois. She was a weird oddity that Kululu had never expected. Someone to come into his room, not be afraid of him, and do...of all things, stare at him? She also was much too chipper making such an honest and genuine effort to form something that she called 'friendship' that it scared him.

He didn't know what she was, but if there was one reason to stay in his room it was because on the first floor Angol Mois obviously resided. It was best to stay away from something as unreadable and unpredictable as her. She messed up everything in his plans and his demeanor.

"A new therapist started working with me." Kululu finally admitted. "Ever heard of a woman named Sai Uru?"

Angol Mois scrunched her nose. "She's the worst. I don't know what I dislike the most, her sock puppets or her singing."

Kululu raised an eyebrow. So Mois had her too? _Maybe this odd girl will finally have some uses so I can gather some information. _He was about to ask something when Mois pulled out a tea set.

"Where'd you get that?" Kululu was so confused.

"Kitchen. I was sleeping in a cupboard..."

_Okay..._Kululu didn't know where this was going.

"When I found a tea set and tea! The chefs eventually caught me but I thought, 'you know what Kululu would like? A tea party." She was chipper.

"Please, gods no. What did I do to deserve this?" Kululu asked desperately.

Mois didn't listen to his always bitter words. Over the weeks she had grown used to his attitude. In a way he was a lot easier to read than her. Nothing about him was rather unexpected or unpredictable.

Although Kululu was constantly unnerved by her presence there, Mois knew deep down that neither of them wanted her to stop visiting. Being near him and having a friend in her life really made Angol Mois more motivated to do more than sleep, even if her friend was rather...difficult to talk to at times. And Mois knew that Kululu no matter how much he denied it, enjoyed her presence. It made him less bored to have someone visit him and he hadn't ever made the effort to get her to stop.

"Do you want me to help you sip it?" Mois wasn't strong enough to release him from his jacket. It was pretty tight so she couldn't give him arms, but she could bring things up to his face.

"I'll probably spit it in your face. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu mocked. Angol Mois ignored him. She knew he acted like this to probably everybody.

She tilted the teacup up to his lips and let him drink it. As she expected he didn't spit it out all over her. It was one of the small little signs he showed that he wanted her to keep visiting.

She smiled and continued their 'tea party.'

"I would have rather had curry, you know. If you're stealing anything steal some curry and bring it up here." Kululu finally requested. "I haven't had that in forever."

"I'll make a note of it." She smiled, pulling at a bag that she had brought with her to Kululu's room for supplies that she could use so they could both be entertained.

She pulled out a fairy tale book that she enjoyed reading to Kululu. Kululu really did groan this time.

"My mind is the mind of a super genius. Please no more rotting it with your sappy romance stories and really unrealistic princes?" Kululu begged. "I'm already here instead of learning and experimenting. Isn't that enough danger to my poor brain? I'm pretty sure if you read to it everyday it would destroy it worse than a lobotomy!"

Angol Mois giggled. "I don't think that's true. And I enjoy reading to you!" She didn't listen to his complaints.

Before she flipped open the book she had a question to ask though. A confused one, "Did...Did Fuyuki come up here recently?"

"Oh. The Hinata boy. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu wickedly laughed. "I forgot that he's in your group, isn't he? What? Going to warn me not to hurt him?" Kululu finally got a chance to be himself- dangerous and threatening.

"No. I was just curious why you let him live. I thought you boasted about how everybody who visits you is killed." Angol Mois pointed out.

"Well," Kululu sighed, "Unfortunately you broke that rule. Instead you were like 'oh, Kululu! Sure you can try.' and then you sat there and...ugh...Stared at me! I couldn't chase you off, so clearly I can't get around to killing everyone, although I'm sure it's on my bucket list."

Angol Mois didn't ask for reassurance that Kululu wouldn't kill her. That was one of the things he hated about her. She just trusted him enough to not even think it an option, that or she wasn't disturbed about it in the slightest. He remembered reading in her file that she had killed before too so she was probably used to it.

"Well, we've procrastinated on fairy tales long enough! Time to hear about some romantic stories!" Angol Mois smiled.

Kululu screamed.

* * *

"She's...Back again..." Garuru sighed. He was watching the security cameras on Kululu's supervised break.

He didn't know how Angol Mois was getting up there or in Kululu's room, nor why she was frightened, and to be a little honest he was completely fine with her being there because it bothered Kululu, but it was still going against protocol.

By all logic she wasn't allowed in there. Yet here she was having a friendly chat and a tea party with of all people, Kululu.

He sighed. He had to put a stop to this before Kululu decided it was time to kill the poor girl. He was probably just trying to figure out how she acted and thought so he could best manipulate her.

The doors opened and Garuru walked in.

Angol Mois frowned. "But I was almost at the part where beauty confesses she loves the beast and the beast turns into a handsome prince."

"There's never been a time that I have been more happy to see you." Kululu was in emotional distress as he looked at Garuru. Oddly enough he looked at Mois when she wasn't looking as if he was teasing her, not in his frightening sort of way, but just like a normal child teasing someone. Albeit a petty normal child. But a normal child indeed.

"Out." Garuru ordered Angol Mois. "You aren't allowed to be up here. And more importantly." He grabbed her arm roughly. "It's dangerous for you. He could kill you at any moment. If he's acting different, trust me when I say that he's just using you."

Angol Mois frowned. "You're just afraid because you can't relate." She was obviously talking about how she was also of a high danger level, "And if I thought I was in danger I wouldn't be here."

"Patient Mois, you haven't ever been the best at judging, well...the correctness of reality or the atmosphere. You get yourself in all sorts of trouble." Garuru frowned.

"Ku. Please feel free to throw patient confidentiality out of the window and talk directly in front of me. No please I enjoy it." Kululu teased.

Garuru dragged Angol Mois outside and slammed the door shut. "I'm just telling you, it's within your best interests to not come up here. I know what you're going through, he promises something to everyone, figures out what they want and then manipulates it to his best advantage. He's done that with me, to countless people before me."

Angol Mois looked up at Garuru for a moment, stopping struggling. "But he didn't promise me anything."

"Then what is it you want from him?" Garuru asked.

"A friend." She said honestly.

Garuru sighed and realized that Angol Mois's issues were a lot deeper than he gave her credit for if she was fishing for friends on the fourth floor. The therapists were really failing her below.

He pat her head, almost gently in a sort of understanding way as he looked up at her sad look. "You...Won't find that up here, Miss. He isn't capable of those emotions."

"That's what they said to me back at the other institution!" Mois said desperately not even mentioning Keron by name. "And look at me now, wanting friends, trying to make connections...So they were wrong about me, so you must be wrong about him!"

Garuru sighed. She really was desperate. The problem was that she related to Kululu a bit too much. He patted her head again.

"You have all of group A. My brother who's a good person, Dororo, Keroro, Koyuki. They're all there for you. Fuyuki too is kind. If Tamama is bothering you that much I can make a referral and switch him to another group..." Garuru suggested.

"It's not about that." Angol Mois said softly. "I want to be friends with Kululu."

Garuru shook his head. "Why him of all the people you could choose?"

"Because he's just as lonely as me." Angol Mois explained.

Garuru helped her to the elevator. "Perhaps...If I can get my supervisor to agree to letting me supervise the two of you...You can have another odd tea party."

Angol Mois smiled. That perhaps was enough. She turned around and let Garuru help her down the elevator.

Garuru felt terrible. He knew it was likely that he could let Angol Mois in to see Kululu for some sort of 'social integration' if he worded things right. Especially since she didn't have any relatives they could locate looking for her nobody would sue if she died. But that was the problem. Garuru knew Kululu and Garuru knew that she would definitely die.

He had no idea that Kululu's plans for Mois were far from the opposite and Angol Mois's words were actually close to the truth. She was too pure and genuine for him to kill, and she was something that secretly...he might not mind if it became a constant boring part of his schedule. He hated constants, but he wouldn't mind this one.

* * *

It was finally time for Yanda to be freed and rejoin the rest of group B. But he had had enough. During his time simmering in his room in anger, he had realized how screwed he really was.

His friend, Yue had died. He had been locked up for a month and his parents didn't ever think he'd get better.

There was only one thing he could think about and strive to do, only one little bit of control he had in his life. And control was something Yanda desperately wanted.

And that thing he could strive for and hope was that group A would get their just deserts. He knew they didn't really have anything to do with his problems – the fourth floor did, but he had been sent away from Yue because Fuyuki hadn't been blamed for the fire in his room.

So in an odd way in his head it was all Fuyuki's fault. Everything bad that happened to him must have been Fuyuki's fault.

_Once and for all it's time to end this. To end Fuyuki. He's the last weakling and thing I can control. _Yanda decided.

He wasn't very good at control. He was just muscle, not brain. But for what he had in mind for Fuyuki, he didn't need brain.

Fuyuki would be dead, and he would take his chosen place in group A. And then of course all the problems of the Hinata house would be fixed for him because he would get their priveledges.

It was time to strike.

* * *

**Please review. Mostly Angol Mois and Kululu were in this chapter but it ended with a bit of Yanda. I just have to wrap up that plot next chapter.**


	17. Crawling Away

**Finally, the end of arc 1 and what I like to call the Yanda arc. I always hated Yanda's character because he was boring. My sister invented him because she wanted him to serve a purpose as a villain and I was like "He has no character! Don't do this, you'll regret it." And she did regret it because the deal was she got to invent Yanda but all of her chapters would deal with him instead of mine. But then she left and I got stuck with him so I'm so happy to finally have his arc, and the need to write him ending.**

**Good-bye Yanda, I always disliked how you were so much of a tool.**

* * *

Like a tiger waiting in a bush, Yanda watched Fuyuki at dinner, waiting to strike.

His plan required the least amount of staff in the room to stop him, or catch him. Ideally Sai would be there, she was super easy to convince that he was up to something in the name of friendship. The keyword to describe her was easily gullible.

"So...What are you planning to do?" Nubibi asked in a hushed voice. He knew the glint in Yanda's eyes that he was planning something, but he couldn't quite tell what it was. After all Yanda wasn't talking to him as much and letting him in one his plans after Yue's death.

Maybe he thought Nubibi was just too new, and had served his purpose. He was useless to him now. All Yanda needed was himself.

_Nubibi probably doesn't want to kill anyone. _Yanda decided. _So he can not be let in on this plan. _Nubibi's danger level wasn't anywhere near his and he risked Nubibi crying and telling a staff member if he knew.

"I'm going to lure Fuyuki into the bathroom and frighten him a bit." Yanda lied.

"Why the bathroom?" Nubibi was confused.

"It's not monitored by staff. It's the only place where we have any privacy." The bathrooms were large, separated by sex. There were stalls that were private but in front of the stalls were sinks and mirrors. Urinals were in the men's restrooms and Yanda had no idea what was in the girl's. It was a mysterious world to him that he could only assume grew flowers or something and was perfumed and had lounges.

The bathroom would be the perfect place to beat Fuyuki up- to the point of death. And as long as he got Fuyuki alone, Fuyuki wouldn't be able to defend himself. After all he was weak and scrawny.

"Do me a favor and guard the door to make sure nobody interrupts." Yanda order Nubibi. "Especially not him." He pointed over at Giroro. "I'm tougher than him for sure, but he is a hassle." He bragged.

"So nobody gets to use the restrooms. Got it." Nubibi smiled, unaware of the full extent of the revenge Yanda was planning.

Yanda waited for the right moment to strike- when all of the staff was eating their own food and distracted by one another, this usually happened at exactly 6:23, no later.

When the clock rolled around to that time, Yanda got up like a lightning bolt. He noticed to his satisfaction that most of Fuyuki's members of group A were distracted with each other too. Koyuki was nodding off and trying not to lean on anyone, but falling on Dororo's shoulder nonetheless. Dororo was smiling satisfied and almost shyly to himself, but pushing her slightly away so that he wouldn't get in trouble. He wound his hand tightly around hers under the table.

The two of them were properly distracted with each other. _Good. I didn't want to get in a gang fight. _He didn't know about Dororo's fighting skill, but Koyuki he was smart enough to know he should stay away from.

Giroro was currently being teased by Keroro about some sort of crush or something. He was pulling up his collar and hiding under it so nobody could see how red his face was. This only proved to show that he was more pathetic.

Both of them seemed very distracted.

Tamama and Angol Mois were fighting over a slice of cake on Angol Mois's tray. Tamama seemed to want all the sweets his mouth could carry and Angol Mois just wanted to eat her cake in piece.

They didn't seem to be paying attention to anything but each other.

Momoka- the rich heiress was a little bit weird. She wasn't talking but she was eating her food rather quietly. Yanda didn't know if she was distracted, but she kept glancing at Fuyuki and looking a bit shy.

He'd take his chances.

"Yo, Fuyuki." Yanda spoke up.

Fuyuki tensed up when he saw that Yanda was coming. He didn't particularly like him.

"There's no need to be tense. I was just wondering if I could formerly apologize for how much of a jerk I've been." Yanda lied.

Fuyuki's shoulders eased and relaxed. He smiled. "...Sure?" He had never been apologized to before when someone was picking on him. Back in school when he was little, before he had been living with aliens everybody had picked on him for being a nerd, a weak little nerd. Although Natsumi had tried to beat them up for him she couldn't defend him at every chance.

So it was odd and a welcoming experience to have someone apologize to him.

"I kind of wanted to talk to you alone, Fuyuki." Yanda muttered. He leaned forward and his lips hovered above Fuyuki's ear. "It's about that alien on the fourth floor." He made something up of course. He knew Fuyuki loved aliens and the occult, and that they were part of his delusions and he knew Fuyuki was also curious about the fourth floor so that would hook him in.

Fuyuki sighed. _So the sergeant major did something. _Yanda probably wanted Fuyuki to sort something out because this was his house.

Well he couldn't deal with the sergeant major. Only Aki could really set down ground rules about their house because she was his mother and she owned the place.

"Sure thing." Fuyuki got up, getting barely a glance from his group. Momoka looked up for a moment watching him go.

"D-don't." She tried to advise him. But it was too late. He had fallen into Yanda's trap.

"I'll be fine. I'll be back in a few minutes." Fuyuki promised her.

* * *

Yanda led him to the bathroom and closed the door behind them.

"Why did you need to talk here?" Fuyuki asked.

"Because this place isn't monitored." Yanda told him, "The staff doesn't like us talking about aliens, remember?"

Fuyuki nodded in understanding, unaware of what Yanda was preparing to do. Yanda opened a stall and pulled himself upward on a water pipe until he was able to pull the iron thing down. He played with it a moment in his hands as if experimenting with how he should hold it.

"Okay then. What did the sergeant major do?" Fuyuki asked, "I can't be much help against him. He doesn't listen to me." Fuyuki laughed.

Yanda smiled. "Your alien friend isn't going to do nearly as much as I'm going to do to you." Yanda smiled.

Before Fuyuki could realize what was happening, Yanda slammed the iron pipe down onto Fuyuki's head. Fuyuki threw his arms up to defend himself as the pipe sliced into him, his arms being crushed from the impact.

"AUGHH! W-what the heck? Why?" Fuyuki asked.

"It's the only way to defeat the aliens. Just stand still." Yanda lied. He knew Fuyuki was deluded so he could use Fuyuki's delusions to let him do anything he wanted to him.

Unfortunately for him Fuyuki wasn't that far gone in unreality. He realized what was happening. Yanda had brought him far away to beat him up. His arms fell limply to his sides, bleeding profusely and bruised.

"Y-you...You want to hurt me." Fuyuki gulped. "You're the alien here. You're a villain." He realized.

"I don't just want to hurt you. I'm going to kill you, Fuyuki. Every bad thing that's happened to me here is your fault. It has to be. It's not my fault after all." Yanda whispered. He was too far gone.

Fuyuki whimpered and did the only thing in his head- he ran. The water from the pipe that Yanda had broken was leaking out onto the floor, making it slippery. And Fuyuki was already slow at running, but he ran for his life, slipping on the floor and tripping.

Eventually he made it to the door. "L-let me out!" He cried pounding weakly on the door with his hurt arms.

The door was locked from the outside. Someone else was guarding it.

"Good-bye, Fuyuki." Yanda slammed the pipe down towards Fuyuki's crouching body again.

Terror flickered through Fuyuki as he tried to dodge, the pipe catching a bit of cloth from his pant leg and tearing into his flesh. He yelled out in pain, but he didn't stop moving.

This was more frightening than anything he had experienced. Yanda was more dangerous than the fourth floor, worse than Sai, and worse than the weird headaches he was getting from when his Mom was brought up.

Fuyuki tried to use his mind to get out of this situation. There weren't any windows in the restrooms that he could climb out of. He tried to crawl weakly to a stall thinking he could close one of the doors and that would buy him seconds at most.

"S-stop this. We could be f-friends..." Fuyuki said desperately.

"You don't know what friends are." Yanda said coldly. "All your friends are fake aliens. The sarge? Don't make me laugh, that patient isn't an alien. You're just so lonely that you pretended you had friends. Nobody in group A really likes you or cares for your fakeness."

Fuyuki let out a cry and whimper. An image flashed through his mind for a moment- an image of a human sergeant Keroro, taller than him, older than him.

That was the person sharing his room right now. It wasn't a small keronian. Why? Why wasn't the sarge an alien?

Fuyuki darted forward, adrenaline pushing his body. Terror was driving his body so he was a little faster than Yanda as he threw himself into a stall and locked it from the inside. He knew it wouldn't stop Yanda as Yanda hit on the door laughing wildly.

"This won't stop me." Yanda laughed.

"S-sis!" Fuyuki cried out. He was at the end of his rope. When people were picking on him, Natsumi had always saved him.

But Natsumi wasn't there. Something in the back of his brain knew she wasn't in the Hinata House. "Sarge! Giroro!" Fuyuki continued to cry.

But the sarge didn't come either. Maybe he wasn't truly his friend. Giroro didn't come, it wasn't like he was Natsumi. He was just Natsumi's brother. Giroro didn't even know he was in danger so he couldn't help him.

"M-mom..." Fuyuki cried weakly. It was the last name he called for- the last person to help him.

The door opened and Fuyuki hoped for a moment that he'd see his mother.

"Your mother is dead, Fuyuki. Dead as dead can be." Yanda laughed as Fuyuki was greeted by the sight of Yanda grinning wildly like a mad man, the pipe coated with Fuyuki's blood and ready to do the finishing blow.

It wasn't the first time Fuyuki had seen blood. Images filled his mind of his mother's body on the street, cars surrounding her and people.

"_Fuyuki! Don't look!" _Natsumi had begged him, trying to hold him back. But Fuyuki had managed to use what little strength he had to push past her and had seen the crumpled body of his mother on the street.

It was the most gruesome sight ever. The guts, the pieces of motorcycle lodged inside various body parts. The crushed bone...

Fuyuki didn't know why these images were filling his head, but he shivered. Would he be like that too?

There was no helping him. And he fell weakly to the bathroom floor just as he had when he had seen Aki's body- fainting and ready for Yanda to finish it.

* * *

Nobody had noticed that Fuyuki was gone, that was except Momoka. She didn't trust Yanda and Fuyuki wasn't back yet oddly enough.

She glanced over to Keroro and Giroro who were still arguing about Natsumi. "Fuyuki left with Yanda." Momoka finally said.

Giroro looked most concerned at that information. His eyes snapped up and off of Keroro. "Where did they go?"

"I don't know." Momoka told him.

"He'll be fine. What's Yanda going to do? Beat him up? That would be breaking the rules of the Hinata House and he would easily be caught. Maybe he's just telling him that aliens don't exist." Keroro munched on his food, little concern in his voice because he thought he had common sense.

"I'll go with you to check it out." Giroro volunteered.

"I'll come part way anyway." Keroro offered. "I need to use the restroom after all."

Momoka nodded and hurriedly went off to look for Fuyuki with Giroro and Keroro.

It wasn't long before they came to the closest restroom to deposit Keroro in. But Nubibi was standing at the door.

Giroro grit his teeth- realizing where Yanda was probably 'talking' to Fuyuki. "Move." He ordered.

"Yeah! I gotta pee!" Keroro danced a bit.

Nubibi shook his head. "This restroom is out of order. You'll have to find another one."

Giroro put his hand on Nubibi's shoulder as if he would punch him. Nubibi shook his head.

"Don't. Or else." Nubibi threatened.

"Or else what?" Giroro asked with little interest.

"You'll be sent to the healing room. My Mom works up there, and she's higher in the ranks than your brother." Nubibi smiled. "And I'm sure if you damaged her baby boy than you'd never ever ever have a chance of getting out of here. Heck, your brother might get in trouble too. My Mom's a protective woman."

Giroro looked weak at that threat. His main goal was to get out of there, but he was worried. "But Fuyuki..." He should care more about Fuyuki, not his own safety.

"Is just being talked to." Nubibi promised. "You'll see your precious Fuyuki soon enough."

Keroro put a hand on Giroro's shoulder. "You heard him. Yanda's not stupid, he wouldn't put himself in that much trouble. I mean Fuyuki didn't do anything to him."

"But he could be scapegoating-" Giroro pointed out. He could not hear Fuyuki's cries from the restroom. The walls were pretty thick to give patient privacy.

Momoka sighed deeply. Giroro and Keroro didn't get things done enough. She pushed forward to the front of the ranks.

"Let me in." she ordered.

Nubibi blushed deeply. "I can't!"

"Yeah!" Keroro pointed out. "It's the guy's restroom! If a girl goes in there...She'll combust!"

Momoka didn't even dignify that with a response. Instead she grabbed Nubibi by the collar. "Let me in, snot faced brat, or else I'll beat the living heck out of you." She growled.

Giroro and Keroro took a step back. They hadn't ever seen Momoka like this. Sure, they had heard the rumors of why she was there in the Hinata House, but she had always been a rather shy girl. Now she seemed less so.

"D-didn't you just hear my threat, my mother-!" Nubibi said.

"Do you think I care?" Momoka asked. "My mother is a world class fighter. My father owns half the world's economy. If it's a parent challenge of which parent could do more damage to the other- I think

I've won. And even if I didn't I care more about Fuyuki's well being than your tiny threats."

Nubibi shivered and scurried away from the door. Momoka didn't even realize it was locked when she kicked it down.

"But- But..." Keroro stuttered. "It's male's only!"

Momoka didn't care as she stepped in. She immediately saw one of the stall doors hanging open, unhinged, Yanda holding a pipe up over something.

She could guess what.

"Ah, so Fuyuki's bratty girlfriend came to join the fun." Yanda didn't even care. "I always did want a chance to beat up the Nishizawa brat herself."

Momoka could see Fuyuki's legs dangle on the floor. She couldn't see the rest of his body, but despite the fact that Yanda was holding some sort of a weapon she didn't falter or hesitate as she ran towards him, charging.

"W-what-" Yanda was caught off guard when she head butted him in the stomach. Her head was sharp and sturdy.

"Challenge accepted. So help me if you hurt Fuyuki, I will end you." Momoka hissed. She should have never let Fuyuki go off alone.

Yanda was thrown across the room from the impact. He wiped a little blood away from his face that he coughed up.

Momoka stood in front of Fuyuki's body. He looked like he had only fainted. His eyes fluttered open when he heard her familiar voice.

"M-momoka?" He asked confused. She was the only one he hadn't called for. Yet she had come to his rescue. "Momoka! Are you okay?" He tried to sit up, but hurt and was frightened to much. "You can't fight him, he's got an alien weapon." He refereed to the pipe.

Momoka huffed for a moment to blow some of her hair out of her face. "And I'm a world class martial artist. Don't care if he has a weapon, don't need it."

Giroro and Keroro ran in to the restrooms. Giroro looked startled to see Fuyuki so injured. He dropped to Fuyuki's side ready to protect him instead of fight for once. "Keroro! Go get some of the staff! Go!"

Keroro nodded and rushed off.

Yanda frowned at more people being around. His plan was doing poorly. But he still had a weapon. "RARRR!" He screamed like a wild animal and charged at Momoka.

"Momoka!" Fuyuki screamed worried for her. But Momoka didn't show fear. Instead she grabbed the pipe with one hand, her icy gaze meeting Yanda as her hand crushed the pipe in it. She then karate chopped the back of his neck with the other hand.

"Scared of Fuyuki's bratty girlfriend as you called me, yet?" Momoka teased when Yanda realized the full fact that Momoka vastly outclassed him in fighting experience, something that he had not expected from the petite rich looking girl.

Yanda fell to the ground, trying to get back up to stand. But the staff had made it into the bathroom and pushed Momoka and Yanda apart.

"You did exactly the right thing, Giroro." They complimented. "Raising Fuyuki so that the bleeding wouldn't choke his throat and lungs was the right thing."

Giroro was holding Fuyuki and trying his best to prolong his life. Medical experts surrounded Fuyuki and started poking him with wires, hooking Ivs and giving him oxygen.

Other staff, tougher grabbed Yanda by all his limps. They placed a jacket around him, a straight jacket.

"You tried to hurt Mistress Momoka, didn't you?" They asked.

"Yep. He did." Momoka happily nodded.

"Then you are no longer allowed at the Hinata House. We'll have to transfer Yanda to another facility." They decided.

He was too dangerous. He needed to be in isolation. And far away from someplace that believed that patients could get out.

Yanda screamed and shook his head. He didn't want to be in isolation. "No! No! I'm staying here."

"The Hinata House no longer has a place for you. You got your wish. You are acknowledged as dangerous. Your family will be billed Fuyuki's medical expenses." The staff told him.

And Yanda was dragged away- for forever. Fuyuki knew he would never see the dragon man again.

The villain that was haunting the Hinata House, making this place wrong had always been Yanda. And now he was finally gone.

Even though his body was in pain, Fuyuki smiled as he blacked out.

It was the end. It was the end of this terrible nightmare and adventure.

Evil had been defeated and now Fuyuki could finally be happy. His friend, Momoka, had come for him. Giroro had looked after his health and he could rely on everybody around him.

The Hinata House was just as it always had been. A safe place once again.

* * *

**What did you think? What did you think of Yanda? I know my sister developed him but did I handle him in a satisfying way after I took over?**

**Also I've been trying to include a little more Dororo/Koyuki moments even though they're not the main characters of the story. Any suggestions of stuff you'd like to see between them?**


	18. Prisoner

**I was supposed to go in a different direction with this chapter, but to be honest I got distracted by Giroro.**

**I guess since Giroro has such a lot of screen time maybe I should add him to the main characters too? Giroro took over.**

* * *

The Hinata House never made him feel trapped, and that's why Garuru knew he had a privilege over the other patients. He adhered to a strict schedule but it was never as restrictive as the patients lives. After all he was a staff member.

"Did you hear what happened to Fuyuki?" Pururu said in a whisper. She was his co-worker, the one he trusted the most out of the entire hospital. She worked the most closely to the rest of group A after all.

"He's in the hospital wing up on the third floor, right? He was beaten to near death." Garuru stated, hissing a little. "We as staff really failed our jobs if we neglected to contain a dangerous patient. Fuyuki shouldn't have been hurt."

Pururu nodded as the two spoke quietly in a whisper in the break room. Other therapists glanced over to the two gossiping co-workers.

The case of Fuyuki Hinata had been the subject of many rumors for them. They were all worried if he would make a recovery, but also gossiped of exciting new details of the fight. Facts remained that Momoka had also played a key role in the fight, having ended in herself but there was nothing they could really do about that. It wasn't like they could restrict her privileges.

"I just wish we didn't have to deal with these dangerous mental patients so much." Someone else sighed- a staff member named Doctor Therapist.  
"If you didn't want to deal with them why'd you go into the job?" Pururu asked confused. Was it because of the person's name.

"Nah, I don't have problems dealing with some of the cases. Druggies that Dororo fellow are things that I've trained for. People who honestly want are help and will talk to us like Keroro are something to be admired, but the dangerous cases...I mean the ones who have killed." The therapist shuddered, "They shouldn't be here."

"Where else would you put them?" Garuru said curtly. He of course was a bit defensive of this subject since Giroro had ended up in the hospital when he had snapped and killed an elderly lady accidentally.

"The streets if they have no money for one." The therapist decided, "They can die like rats. But the safest place for them would probably be jail. That's where they should be. It's just that the dang court of law ruled that if they're 'insane' or a minor they have to go here for treatment instead."

"But that's a good thing!" Another therapist pointed out, "After all the more patients we have the more funding and money. And the better we can fund our scientific endeavors. Science is expensive and its nice to have money to back things up." And the country didn't want to deal with these mental patients either and was happy to offer up a lot of money to whatever institution held them.

Other therapists and staff members eagerly nodded in the lounge. Their eyes sparkled with the desire of money, after all their pay was very good.

"I know, I know." Doctor therapist smiled, "Money is important. But do we really have to hold patients like Giroro to get money? I mean he's about as dangerous as Yanda! Who's to say he won't snap and try to kill somebody?"

Murmurs went through the crowd. None of the therapists besides Garuru and Pururu really liked Giroro.

"He won't." Garuru crossed his arms. "I have faith in him." He glared at his co-workers. Nobody would diss his brother. Nobody. "And he's improving."

"Yeah! We became therapists to help!" Pururu chanted. Garuru glanced at her- well his reasons for working at the Hinata House were a lot more selfish, he had gone to school and learned these skills only for Giroro's sake, but she honestly did this work because she enjoyed it and it was her passion. "Don't you believe that even the dangerous cases can get better? Can improve?"

There were mutters and gossip around the crowd of staff members as they talked about their cases. "Not the Nishizawa girl. Her lawyers don't even want to believe there's a problem. Although the court has ordered that she remains here for life, they're trying to swing only a few years." One of the therapists pointed out. "We all know she's not going to get better though."

"And the Hinata boy's treatment plan says he'll take five to ten years before he's cured." Another added on.

"Tamama's childish and won't do his treatment and take pills. He'll probably be here for life too. Not like it matters for him, he's got no education, nothing he aspires to be. He'd probably end up dead on the street anyway."

"Who knows about Keroro? He's been discharged several times but keeps coming back. He'll just lie about how much treatment is helping him." Another sighed. They sounded like they actually did care about Keroro's well being since he wasn't dangerous and was friendly.

"Dororo's not going to quit drugs. Let's be real. He's here for life too." Another person laughed.

"I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do with Koyuki! She still climbs on ceilings." Koyuki was an odd case of them trying to reintegrate her, not treat an illness.

"Same with Angol Mois, she's here for life. Even if she realizes she's not an alien she's still killed before. And she's so weird that she makes me doubt my sense of reality!" Someone else pointed out.

A hush fell over everyone for a moment. "And we of course know there's no hope for that fellow on the fourth floor. We don't even want to cure him. Just keep the rest of us safe."

"But you have to keep trying! For everyone's sakes!" Pururu tried to plead.

"Who cares about their sakes? We all know why we're here. The good pay, and the license to practice our experiments that would take too much money elsewhere." People frowned at Pururu. "Don't be all righteous. Nobody cares about any of the patients here."

Pururu frowned.

* * *

"I know you're different." Pururu said when she and Garuru were alone. "You don't have a selfish reason to be here like those other staff members."

"But I do." Garuru insisted. "Giroro is my reason. And I don't care what the therapists think he's doing better. He will do well. I will protect him."

Pururu frowned.

"...And if I happen to rise in the ranks, change the system from the inside to help Giroro, then so be it. I'll just have to help all the patients then so I can finally help him." Garuru explained.

Pururu smiled. "Thank god. I thought the only person who agreed with my mentality that we're here to help the patients and not for selfish reasons was Sai. And she's a little...Well meaning but incompetent." Pururu didn't want to be like that.

Garuru smiled at Pururu. "I'm not like them. Don't worry, I'm disgusted by our co-workers behavior as well. Our bosses only have one goal in mind and it's not to heal anybody. But I will change that."

"And I'll follow you the entire way. I'll stay by your side. Even if it's for one person's sake I'll be there to support you." Pururu promised.

Garuru smiled. "Thank you. Oddly enough it's nice to have someone I can rely on and trust."

* * *

He remembered the day long ago. He hadn't felt guilty then Giroro had been five when his parents had announced that they were getting a divorce.

"Your mother will be going back to her home country." Giroro's dad told Garuru bluntly. "And we've made a deal that we'll each have custody of one child. Since you're the eldest Garuru you'll get to decide who you wish to stay with."

Garuru tried to be mature and rational about this decision. "My father of course." He spoke up, "After all Giroro needs a mother in his life. He's younger than me."

Giroro looked up at his older brother worriedly. Their mother looked hurt. "B-but Garuru! We were going to be so happy together!" Her face crumpled in despair that she had been just cast aside. Apparently she was the one who had wanted Garuru.

Garuru slowly realized that they were letting him decide because they had both wanted him and Giroro was the extra.

"Brother! I don't want to be without you!" Giroro hugged his brother. Garuru and Giroro were closer than siblings usually were- Giroro idolized him and Garuru loved and protected him. There was a special bond between the two.

"You won't be. You can write to me all the time. It'll be fine." Garuru had to put on a strong face even though their parents were getting a divorce.

When things were sorted out and his mother dragged Giroro away, Garuru didn't know it would be the last he saw of Giroro for years.

He didn't realize that the letters Giroro sent every month- scrambled letters with odd and almost bad sort of poetry, always started their sentences with the letters 'H, E, L, P.' He never realized the signs that Giroro was trying to subtly escape.

He never heard of how Giroro was doing until ten years later.

"Your brother went off and joined the army." His now alcoholic father told him, depressed from the divorce and never having gotten over it. Garuru had always thought he had made the right choice to stay with his father, his father needed him after all. He needed to be the adult in this situation.

"What? But he's only fifteen!" Garuru stood up. The military was dangerous, Giroro could be killed.

"It was probably to get away from your mother." His father told him, dismissively. "She always had a violent streak. I wouldn't be surprised if Giroro and her weren't getting along."

Garuru felt rage inside of him. "If she was violent—and I never knew, why'd you give me the choice to stay with her all that time ago? Wouldn't I have risked getting hurt?" Or had his father thought he could defend himself.

"She wouldn't have hurt you." He said softly. "You were her pride and joy."

"But what about Giroro...?" Garuru asked, terrified. He hadn't seen his brother in so long but he still thought of him, showing his friends little baby pictures of his precious brother so far away. He was always a child in his mind- he had never seen him grow up after all.

"Giroro's fifteen now. He can make his own choices." Garuru's dad told him, flipping through a newspaper. He obviously was saying something had happened.

And Garuru realized it was his fault for not preventing it. That was when the guilt started.

The next time he heard about Giroro was years later.

"He lost an eye, you know." Garuru's father told him.

"Who did?" Garuru asked.

"Your brother. Shrapnel from a bomb hit it. He's lucky he only lost the eye. I heard in a letter from your mom that he was discharged. Had enough money to leave the country and ran off again, but was a little worse for wear. Not sure what being on the front lines does to a person. Maybe he'll visit now that he's coming back to Japan?" Garuru's dad said hopefully.

Garuru couldn't process the horror that his father was telling him in that chipper tone.

The next time Giroro's name was mentioned was when he actually saw him- contained and more adult than ever before in the Hinata House. He was behind a glass window and Garuru and his father weren't allowed to talk to him but they could see him as staff tried to dose him full of drugs to get him to stop struggling.

"He killed someone." Garuru's father whispered. "Your brother is going to have to stay here until he's better. Doctors say that will be never."

Garuru touched the one-way window. Giroro couldn't see him. For the first time in a long time, Garuru cried.

He had waited to long to help Giroro. And now the damage was done. "He will get better." Garuru promised.

Giroro's life had been ruined because of him. His decisions, his lack of action. But now was the time to put his life on hold and help him. "He...He looks so much older. He's grown so much." Garuru tried to sniffle.

He wasn't a child anymore. But he still needed Garuru. "I'll become a doctor. And I'll go in there and help him."

Giroro's father looked shocked. "But, you've got a nice paying job already!"

"Nobody can stop me this time. My life is going to be for Giroro. He's my brother, and I will do exactly what an older brother should do and protect him." Garuru vowed.

He'd be in the Hinata House soon enough. And he'd be there for Giroro.

* * *

Learning about the Hinata house more and more of course disappointed Garuru. The therapists and staff were selfish and Giroro wasn't getting the treatment he desperately needed. But Garuru was still happy to exist for Giroro, to help Giroro.

"I was wondering if we could eat dinner together." Garuru sat down in front of Giroro. He wasn't occupied by that Fuyuki boy so now he could spring his chance to have some bonding time.

Giroro looked glum. His face had a big bruise on it.

"Giroro, what happened? Are you okay?" Garuru asked concerned, "Did you get in a fight with one of the other patients?"

"Natsumi found out about what happened to Fuyuki." He said glumly. "She asked me why I didn't protect him. She was angry and hurt and crying and I...I tried to comfort her, but she wouldn't hear it. The damage was done." Giroro admitted.

"A visitor slapped you? Her privileges to visit should be revoked-" Garuru wasn't going to let Giroro get hurt.

"Don't do that. It wasn't her fault. It was mine for not protecting him more." Garuru could hear the guilt in Giroro's voice. It was similar to his guilt.

He didn't want that to be a burden for Giroro to bare. Giroro should have just been thinking about his health. Not others.

"What she thinks shouldn't matter. Your health matters." Garuru advised him.

"But she's Natsumi! I...I want her to trust me!" Giroro admitted. Garuru could see a hint of a blush on Giroro's cheeks. He could tell that Giroro liked this girl.

_He's not ready to have crushes like that on people. He needs to be focusing on his own mental health, not trying to impress some girl. I don't want him to get into a bad situation where he exists only for her and can be easily abused again by someone. _Giroro had to much pain in his life, and if he became dependent on someone it was sure to blow up in his face. Garuru put his hand on his brother's.

"Giroro, trust me when I tell you this, females and dating shouldn't be a concern to you at the moment. What should matter is your health, your mental health and safety. Getting better." Garuru told him.

"I am getting better! And it's thanks to Natsumi! I just want to give her something back, to make her feel like I'm important to her too!" Giroro admitted, "But I screwed that up. I couldn't protect the one thing she tasked me with protecting."

"Giroro, put her out of your head. Keep your mind focused on the mission, the job." Garuru nodded.

Giroro scoffed, "I bet you have time for dating and girls. Because you're normal and healthy. Because you have freedom to be out of here."

Garuru felt guilty again. "Giroro, I'm here for you and only you. You're the only one I care about. And I don't have time for any of that, because I'm focused on you- like you should be!" It was a lie of course, Garuru did have time for that, but Giroro didn't need to know that. It would just make Giroro feel worse if he knew Garuru had a social life and was enjoying the things that he wanted and couldn't have.

"I never asked you to put your life on hold for me!" Giroro lashed out angrily, "You can date, you can be in love with people. Just, let me too?"

Garuru didn't know if that was a good idea. He stood up wondering if he had just aggravated Giroro and if it was time to leave.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lashed out." Giroro realized. "T-thank you for always supporting me. It's just..." _I'm really happy to have met Natsumi. I want her in my life too. I want what a normal person can have. _"I'll try to focus more on me, just like you have been. I'm sure Natsumi would think that's for the best too. Thank you for always having faith in me, brother."

Garuru smiled and nodded. He loved when Giroro called him brother. "Any time."

He'd have to deal with that Natsumi issue later. He ruffled Giroro's hair before he left, smiling at his younger brother.

* * *

There wasn't a single therapist that Giroro trusted in this place besides his brother and maybe Pururu who was a little older than him, but Fuyuki still thought they had been childhood friends or something.

Giroro knew they all didn't believe in him. But if Garuru believed in him, was there for only him, was putting the rest of his life on hold and struggling just as much as Giroro was, that was enough.

It was 8:45, just when Garuru was supposed to be heading home. Giroro was supposed to be heading off to collective therapy but he decided to thank Garuru yet again for struggling with him, even though his own mental issues weren't Garuru's problems.

He went to Garuru's office and didn't bother to knock on the door. He heard Garuru's voice from inside after all.

The door swung open and he saw Pururu entangled with Garuru, her arms draped over his shoulders, heavily making out with him.

Giroro's jaw dropped open for a second. "So, who said they didn't have time for dating?"

Garuru hurriedly put his shirt back on. Pururu blushed and buttoned up her own blouse shoving Garuru away. "G-giroro! Why didn't you knock? Oh geez, you shouldn't have seen that."

"We were off the clock anyway. It's okay." Garuru rolled his eyes. What really worried him though was how hurt- and betrayed Giroro looked.

He had betrayed him. He was showing Giroro that unlike him, he had freedom, freedom to be with the person he loved, freedom to make out with someone, all sorts of freedom. Not only that but he was showing Giroro that he was there for someone other than him. That his reasoning for being in the Hinata House wasn't entirely for Giroro.

It hadn't started that way, but Pururu's ideals had grown on him and they had fallen in love while working together. Eventually they had started dating and even moved in with each other- something that he had procrastinated on telling his own brother because he didn't want to damage Giroro's relationship with Pururu.

He thought Giroro trusting Pururu was an important part of his healing process.

"I...I was going to tell you eventually." Garuru lied.

Giroro turned away. "I see. So you're allowed to care about people but I'm not. I guess it's because I'm not normal or something am I? And you don't have any faith that I've made improvements."

"It's not that-" Garuru said desperately.

But Giroro walked away. "Go home to your life of freedom. You can do anything you want." His voice was bitter, because he knew he wasn't.

"You can too." Pururu tried to tell him.

"Sure I can. We all know that we're prisoners in the Hinata House." Giroro grunted. "Why else would there be so many creepy rules? Schedules? This is a prison, not a healing place."

Pururu and Garuru didn't know what to say.

It was true.

And Giroro walked away, knowing full well he was a prisoner. There was no way he could even pretend that he wasn't.

_Nobody's looking out for me, but me. _He realized. After all Garuru was here to kiss his girlfriend.

He was alone.

* * *

**Please review**


	19. Salvation

**Runwithscissors is writing again. Kululu will be the focus of this chapter while Fuyuki heals in the hospital.**

**This chapter has a lot of patient/therapist intimacy content so please skip if you are not comfortable with that.**

**—Scissors**

**My sister wrote another chapter because it featured Sai prominently she wanted to.**

* * *

_"Mark __my words, Kululu, I will change you. Because I have the power to change people. Even jerks like you will become nice._

_"I am your salvation, Kululu."_

At first Kululu hadn't thought anything of Sai's words, believing them to be rubbish. Sai was a good-for-nothing therapist that Kululu wouldn't have to depend on for anything. No way could he be changed.

But here he was now, a changed person. And Sai's arms were entangled in his hair and wires as they indulged in heated, intimate, forbidden kissing.

* * *

**THE PREVIOUS WEEK**

Sai had to be downright the most persistent therapist Kululu had ever had.

Whenever she stepped into his high-security room, he saw that gleam of determination in her eyes, and just thought every time, _Ugh. I'd thought for sure I scared her off the LAST time._

"Come on, Kululu. Let's talk about how you're feeling today," Sai told him one day after she had taken the mask off his face.

"I'm feeling…" Kululu sorted through his mind for the proper word. "…lusty."

Sai blushed. "I suppose that's normal for someone your age. Shall we talk about it—"

"_Blood_lusty," he finished.

After a moment, Sai cleared her throat. "Kululu, I don't appreciate it how you're treating these sessions like a joke."

"Can't help it, if the therapist they assign me _is_ a joke—"

"WHY DON'T we try talking about ourselves with '_I_' statements?" Sai suggested. "For example, when you demean me, _I_ feel lesser than you. And we can't have that, can we? After all, I'm your therapist!" She smiled and gestured to him, letting him have at it.

"Hm…." Kululu thought. "Isn't it a shame?"

"What?"

"That your own patient can unnerve you?" His glasses flashed with a glint of evil.

"Kululu, that's not an '_I_' statement—"

"Think about it," he interrupted. "How many years of training? Three? _Five_? All down the drain, just because of a _difficult_ case like me." He smirked.

Ah, did Kululu relish when he saw her shrink inward.

She straightened up. "No one's too difficult. There is not one person in this institution that is beyond my help." She raised her chin up at him. Even though he was taller than her and restrained against a metal plank, she would make _him_ feel like the lesser one for once. "You'll see."

With that, she exited the room, more determined than ever.

* * *

The first place Sai went to was Kululu's records. As a therapist, she had full access to his history. She opened up the file cabinet with his folder and sifted through it.

She was surprised at what she found. The other therapists and doctors had told her that Kululu was a mastermind, but the information in his file just confirmed it. Evidently, the kid was a brilliant from birth, with an IQ higher than the number of patients she'd seen come through this facility. She picked up some more things from his file. Parental neglect. A bit of bullying from school. To counteract that, his parents put him in a gifted program in a separate school from his siblings, but Kululu ended up destroying it with one of his creations, made with materials a kid his age shouldn't have even acquired. She read about some of the inventions he'd made as a child, both quirky and morbid. It appeared that, even as a young child, he had been showing signs of mental illness. She read about how, when his parents had a messy divorce, it only made things worse. The authorities found their bodies barely a week later.

The kid was messed up, but at least she had a better understanding of him. When she visited the next day, she confessed what she'd seen.

"I read up on you," she told him. "Your file. I know how you became this way."

Kululu listened for her theory.

"Cleary your intelligence ruined you. You became famous as a child, but the fame got to you and warped your brain."

"Ah, yes, that's definitely it," he agreed.

"I… I can somewhat relate," she admitted, a hand to her chest. "I've had my fair share of fame. I used to be a child actress in my youth." She hugged herself. "It's not something I normally tell people about. Actually, it's a source of shame to me. The fame got to my head. Made me egotistical for awhile. I'm not like that anymore, of course."

Kululu nodded, seeing her point _exactly_. He yawned. "So when are you going to stop doing that thing with your mouth?"

"What thing?" she asked.

"_Talking_."

Sai's face turned red. She balled her hands into fists. "You don't have to be like this, you know. If you were just a little more cooperative, they'd have let you out of this institution _years_ ago!"

"But don't you understand, Sai?" Kululu leaned in, as far as he could with his straitjacket on. "I _want_ to be here. I relish in being here. Tormenting the staff here invigorates me. I wouldn't trade it for the world." His eyes gleamed sadistically. "This place couldn't get rid of me if they tried. And believe me, they have, _countless_ times."

Sai knew what she wanted to say. Every ounce of her wanted to scream at him, _So you're just a lost cause! You're wasting my time!_ but she knew she couldn't give up on him. Kululu was perhaps the most difficult case she had ever seen; still, she knew she could get through to him eventually.

"Kululu," she said—it was important to use a patient's first name to build trust with them—"I'm just trying to find some common ground between us."

"There is no common ground between us," he answered. "I'm a mental patient, dangerous killer, and famed inventor. And you, my dear, are a blind idealist, following your heart and not your brain—if you have one, that is—a self-righteous, fresh-out-of-college dimwit who uses feigned philanthropy to compensate for her crippling fears of being alone in the world for the simple reason that she has no actual drive beyond convincing herself that she can magically 'cure' people of their inevitable eternal imprisonment with vapid _friendship_ songs."

Each insult took a more powerful hit to her. He had read her like an open book, and she refused to believe it. It was like, with just a glance, he somehow _knew_ everything about you.

It was scary.

Trembling, she reached forward and touched his arm, restrained by the straitjacket. She was a trained professional, after all. "Why won't you open yourself up to me? I can tell you're trying to beat around the bush."

Kululu grinned excitedly. "You want me to open up? To _literally_ open up? Fine." He jerked his head upward. "You see these bandages? Take them off."

Sai lifted her shaky hands upward to the bandages tightly wound around Kululu's ears. As much as it frightened her, she had to admit she _was_ curious as to what was underneath. Not to mention, she was happy that Kululu was finally sharing something with her.

But when the bandages were off, she was horrified at what she saw.

"You like what you see?" Kululu's lips twisted into a demented smile as he watched her expression of dismay. The roll of bandages fell limply from her hand as his shadow loomed over her. "Many years ago, I experimented on my own brain to connect myself to the world of technology." He could barely wait to say the next part. "If you're really that desperate for some common ground, perhaps _I could do the same to you_."

Sai ran from the room, her hand on her mouth to stifle her terrified sobs.

She thought she could change this patient—but clearly, he wasn't human.

That was the last she saw of him that day, as she went home early.

* * *

Sai trudged to work the next day with zero energy.

This was not a good week for her. Kululu's torture was bad enough. Last night, she had a horrible breakup with her boyfriend, and now he wanted her to move out of his house. The problem was, Sai didn't have anywhere to go. Sure, she could rent a new place with her generous wage as a therapist at the Hinata House, but she would have to find someplace to stay until then. Her friends had all distanced themselves from her because they thought it was disturbing how she worked in an institution.

She was alone. She had nothing. And she was dreading the moment she'd have to step into Kululu's room. After everything that had happened, she didn't feel that it was worth it to "change" him anymore.

Unenthusiastically, she inserted her key into the elevator slot to go up to Floor 4. She got past all the scanners and security measures for Kululu's room. When she stepped inside, however, she was shocked to find him in… well… _shock_.

Kululu seemed different today. His eyes were wide as he stared down at the floor. When she took off his mask, he didn't use to opportunity to spit on her or make nasty comments.

He did nothing.

For hours, Sai couldn't get a single response out of him. He was horribly lethargic and uncooperative. This wasn't what she wanted. This wouldn't help either of them.

With nothing to lose, Sai brought her fist against the wall and fell to the floor, sobbing. The noise seemed to snap Kululu out of whatever trance he was in, and his eyes darted to Sai.

"This is hard on me too, okay!" she wailed. Suddenly… everything came out. Sai told him all about her relationship, how she was kicked out of her own home, how all her friends had abandoned her. It was a humiliating sight.

Kululu didn't know what to say. He swallowed. "Sai… I—I didn't know."

Sai's head snapped up. She was surprised to hear him use her first name like that.

Kululu lowered his head in grief. She heard a sigh escape him. "As a mental patient, you never really have time for romance." He averted her eye contact. "I don't like to talk about it, but there was a time I escaped from one of my facilities." Well, more than one time, he neglected to mention. "For a full month, I hid from everyone in a place they'd never find me… as a retail worker."

Sai listened. She had read about that instance in his file. He was telling the truth, but… why? Why was he suddenly opening up to her?

"But what people don't know," Kululu confessed, "is what _happened_ during that month." Taking a deep breath, he told her the story. "One of my coworkers… I liked her. We started a relationship in secret, but I was too afraid of telling her who I actually was… so I didn't." Another sigh. "That was a good month, my time with her. I honestly felt happy during that time—like—like I _could_ be normal. Like this was the life I _could_ have had if not for my… choices."

His face grew grim. "However, she found out one day that I was an escaped mental patient. Things didn't go well after that. She flipped out and reported me at once."

Sai nodded. She remembered reading about how one of his coworkers had reported him.

Kululu's shoulders slumped. "I—I'd never felt so betrayed… and so alone."

Sai was stunned. She knew exactly how he felt. She laughed, wiped her tears, and remarked, "I suppose we're not all that different, then?"

"No." For the first time, Kululu smiled. "I guess we aren't, after all." His smile quickly vanished. "But you have a luxury I don't. You can start up another relationship whenever you want to. People don't see_you_ as a monster."

"_I_ haven't killed people," Sai reminded him.

Kululu sighed again. "I understand. I do have the tendency to lash out, just like I did at you yesterday. I distance myself from people because… I'm so afraid they'll leave me." A tear went down his cheek. "Just like the girl in retail."

Sai comprehended everything now. Kululu wasn't evil or scary. He was just misunderstood.

"The way I act sometimes…. It's one of my many fears." He clenched his jaw. "Do you know what it's like, Sai? To fear yourself?"

She shook her head. She couldn't let herself believe everything Kululu told her! To make sure he was telling the truth, she put her hand on his chest. She knew Kululu was a good liar and always remained calm whenever he was lying—that was what his psychologists had told her. When she felt his chest, however, she could feel that his heart was pounding like a freight train.

She took her hand off, smiling. He _was_ telling the truth! Why else would he be so nervous, unless it was for something he wasn't used to?

Kululu swallowed. "I want to change, Sai. I _need_ to change."

She saw the genuineness, the fear, in his eyes. And so she whispered, "I believe you."

* * *

Over the next few days, Kululu seemed to be making vast improvements. All the staff were appalled at his cooperation. He even stopped tormenting Garuru, which was fascinating, because Garuru was particularly easy to torment.

Gradually, Sai grew closer and closer to him. With each passing moment she spent with him, she learned more about the real him. She did small things to better gain his trust, like unstrapping him from his vertical restraints; and in return, he told her more about his life.

Kululu caught her by surprise one time. During one of their sessions, Sai allowed Kululu to be especially close to her. She wanted him to understand the power of hugs, so she took off his straitjacket.

That hug turned into an embrace. And somehow that embrace turned into a kiss.

Horrified, Sai recoiled. "I'm your therapist! We can't do this."

Kululu cupped her face in his hands. "I want you, Sai. And I know you want me, too."

He looked her in the eyes, so tenderly and intimately. Her heart melted.

He asked her, "Do you trust me?"

And she said, "Yes. I do."

They kissed again.

* * *

Kululu had never really thought of himself as a human. After all he'd been through in these institutions—after all that he'd seen—after every wire that he'd had stuck in him and every dignity he was stripped—he just didn't have that luxury anymore.

In the institutions, this was not his domain. This was a world in which the power belonged to the doctors and therapists.

So he always struck back with what little power he had—his intellect. It was the last thing he had, but he slept at nights in bliss that nobody could take it away.

Of course, fate loved to prove him wrong.

It was a few days ago when Kululu had become bored once again. He had just sent Sai out of the room in a terrified fit after showing her his headphones. Now with his bandages off, he had the ability to snoop around the institution, all from the cover of his room. He couldn't leave, though he wished he could—and it wasn't just because of the straitjacket. When he arrived at the Hinata House, his headphones were deemed a danger to the institution. Several scientists leading their special… "project" tinkered with a few things, attaching some ceiling wires to his headphones, messing up a little here and there, and ta-da! Now Kululu was a lovely little wall display.

Eternally.

What he told Sai was a lie. He didn't _want_ to be there. Each day, the Hinata House put him more and more on edge. All his time was spent by meticulously planning one escape after the other. At first, he had thought the Hinata House was the highest-security institution he'd ever been in. However, considering the "tea time" slot that now took up his schedule thanks to Mois, he now thought otherwise.

If she could get in, why couldn't _he_ get _out_?

Anyway, he happened to be bored at the moment, and wanted something to do. With a snap of his head, electricity gushed through his head wires. In the security office next to him, a screen flashed on, showing the inside of the Healing Room.

Within were several doctors and scientists, positioned over an immobilized, unconscious girl on the table who Kululu recognized to be Asami of group B.

"When will these kids learn they're acting against their own interest?" said one of the scientists whose name was, let's say, Jared.

"Couldn't agree more, Jared." Another scientist, Fredrick, inserted a syringe into Asami's still arm. "These doctors will never be able to control them—just like with that one dangerous case, Yanda. God—it was terrifying to see how much he trashed that one kid from group A!"

As the syringe went in further and further, Asami's body began to jerk wildly. Jared placed his hands on her torso, forcing her down as he and Fredrick carried on their conversation casually.

Their supervisor stepped into the room and observed Asami. He rubbed his chin.

"She's not responding well to the treatment, sir," said Jared.

"Oh well." Fredrick sighed. "This was a new serum anyway. It should keep her calm for at least another week before she beats someone up again."

"It's all well and good that tests are running smoothly," said their supervisor, "but you still need to decide who, among you, will be performing the surgery next month on Jaune."

Kululu's eyes widened. That was his name. What kind of surprise surgery did they have planned for him _this_ time? Or "fun with science," as they liked to call it.

"You mean, the proposal passed?" asked Fredrick excitedly.

"Yes," said their supervisor. "Ever since his location at the Hinata House was leaked, research institutions from every country have their eyes on him. France, India, Korea…."

"It would be illegal for them to break him out," someone put in.

Their supervisor shrugged. "Doesn't matter. There's already so much they could use against us. Their lawyers would turn a blind eye."

"But… but he's _our_ subject."

"I know." Their supervisor put a hand on Fredrick's shoulder. "But the proposal's finally passed. Thanks to the damage Yanda Reichi did to that poor kid, the government now has no _choice_ but to recognize the danger that other patients like Jaune pose. The danger of him just… sitting around."

_They already know my danger,_ thought Kululu. _What changed? How is this any different?_ Still, he listened closely.

"I'm just glad that we'll finally be able to get rid of him," said Jared. "Now the House won't be such a _sitting duck_ for the NPA with him in our midst."

_They're getting rid of me?_ Kululu wondered. _I'm going to another institution?_

He didn't know how to feel about that. He had kind of gotten use to it here, tormenting Garuru, terrifying Sai, even… admittedly…

_NO_. He wouldn't admit that he was getting use to Mois.

Still. What if the institution he was being shipped to was even worse than the Hinata House? What if it was even worse than _Keron_?

He didn't want to repeat those years. A shiver went up his spine, just thinking about it.

But his blood ran cold at what he heard next on the screen.

"So, who's doing the lobotomy, then?"

Kululu's heart skipped a beat. He must have misheard them… right?

"Jared should do the lobotomy," said one of the scientists.

Everyone else excitedly chanted, "_Scapegoat! Scapegoat!_"

"You guys!" said Fredrick. "Don't ridicule Jared."

Mutters sprung amongst the scientist. "Whatever you say, Fredrick." "If Fredrick says so, I guess we have to listen…." "Please sign my face, Fredrick!"

"We don't even know if Jared _wants_ to do the lobotomy," said Fredrick.

"Yes I do," said Jared. He wanted to prove himself.

"Jared—no, you can't," said Fredrick, looking him in the eyes. "What about your dream?"

Jared placed his hands on Fredrick's shoulders. "It'll be all right. Don't worry about me." He gave him assuring wink.

"Let me go in your place," Fredrick begged. "_I'll_ give Jaune the lobotomy."

"No. I'm taking on the task."

"At least let me take the blame if something goes wrong!"

"Fredrick." Their supervisor placed a hand on his back. "You should know that, through all these years, you've been like a son to me."

Jared waited for his praise too.

"But you have to let Jared do the lobotomy. It would be too lowly for you, Fredrick."

Jared saddened, and the room started chanting "scapegoat!" again just as Asami started to awaken. Nervously, they poked her with another syringe and she fell back limply on the table.

Meanwhile, Kululu was overtaken with panic. Not once had he ever considered this being a possibility. They were going to give him a lobotomy? He thought that had been outlawed ages ago. How would they get away with this? How could they take away his last ounce of dignity, destroy the last piece of him that was _him_?

They couldn't! They shouldn't! They… _could_.

Kululu looked around him at all his restraints. He looked up at the ceiling, where his headphone wires were connected.

He was trapped here. He was powerless.

That was when he realized just how small he was.

* * *

Kululu decided he must use his brain while he still had it. Soon enough, he had devised a plan.

He needed to escape the Hinata House at whatever cost. That was his only chance of averting this lobotomy. That meant he had to do whatever technique was necessary to get his supervisors' guards down—even the techniques that… perhaps… he wasn't so fond of.

_Oh well. They've worked in the past_, he had to remind himself.

In his experience, adults were mindless, susceptible, worthless people who only did things for their own gain. Seeing as all of his therapists and supervisors were adults, he'd found certain ways of earning their trust in the past. He'd gotten into their heads, using their weaknesses to their advantage. Their desperation for romance, their cravings for human companionship.

And it just so happened that one of his current therapists had _many_ of those weaknesses. He could read it all over her face the next day when she came to his room.

Sai was the perfect person to use for his plan. If he had to seduce her to gain her trust, he would. He'd need all the allies he could get to enact this plan. Having the facility on his side would be quite beneficial. He just had to lay low and not act suspicious to everyone else.

Those stupid adults…. They didn't know what they were getting into, challenging Kululu to a battle of wit.

He despised adults for two very good reasons.

For one, they seemed desperate for power over him.

Secondly, it always concerned him regarding how _quickly_ his therapists would jump to intimacy with a minor.

But hey. At least it worked, _each and every time._

* * *

**So I guess Fredrick and Jared are like the new "Bob and Fred" now.**

**-Scissors**

**(If it wasn't obvious enough btw, Kululu's totally lying about his romance with the retail girl. I wanted my sister to name her something like Blibbidibobbidy or Suzy Butternickle to make it more obvious.)**


	20. Trust the Accent

**This is another chapter. Have some kurumois as an apology for the last chapter. **

* * *

When Kululu closed his eyes, he couldn't stop thinking about the idea of what was going to happen to him if he failed. The lobotomy. But he couldn't show his doctors that he was unnerved, restless. If they saw any differences in Kululu they would assume he wasn't getting better, and Sai might be taken off the job, something he could not risk since he had invested so much time into her, or figure out that he knew what they were planning for him.

Either way there was no excuse for him to be restless. Frightened. He had never showed the level of fright he held before- his anxieties. So he just had to pretend he was getting sleep.

He tried to close his eyes and think of something different, something aside from the disgusting means that he was using to plan his escape, or what was coming if he failed.

_I need to plan things more intimately. I need to use every tool that is obtainable to me. _Kululu thought to himself. He imagined the people he knew directly, mostly Sai and Garuru and the other staff as pawns- the Hinata House being a rival king on a chess board he had to capture.

He needed more pawns like Sai. More gullible people who could help him out. After all, Sai did have the means and information on the whole facility being freer than he might ever be, but she still was rather dim-witted and useless.

He needed more of her if he was going to have any chance. But where would he get pawns so gullible? So easy to convince to help him?

The door's swung open to his domain and he mentally hoped it wasn't Sai. He was rather an expert at trying to distract himself as she kissed him, since he wasn't really able to do much of reciprocating since he was usually strapped up for the experience, but he still didn't like it.

It made him uncomfortable. Not as uncomfortable as a lobotomy would be, but still something he wanted to ideally keep to a minimum. He enjoyed the fake sappy pretend sob back stories a lot more.

"Hello, Kululu!" Angol Mois babbled, walking in instead of Sai.

Kululu frowned beneath his mask as he saw her. _You're wasting my time even more than usual today. Go! _He didn't need another reason to be afraid and restless. And she would definitely add to his list of problems.

She walked in casually and unstrapped his mask. She sat down with a tray of tea.

He was lucky that he usually avoided eye contact with her – she wouldn't notice the bags under his eyes.

"How was your day?" She talked chipperly, trying to be casual.

He didn't respond. He didn't need to. Angol Mois didn't care and started talking about how she was feeling and different recipes of tea that she had looked up, and the history behind tea parties. All meaningless chatter.

_Wait..._Kululu finally realized. _She's about as gullible as they get! And she's one of the few people I know and have contact with that visits me here. _The best part of Angol Mois was that he didn't need to seduce her to like him more, being already quite delusional and distant from reality she was under the impression that they were friends. Something that Kululu was happy with taking advantage of and making more in his favor.

He felt a twinge of something in his gut when he thought about manipulating her for her help as she talked to him and made him feel like they were having an actual conversation. Was that twinge guilt? He had done a lot of terrible things in his life but nothing that made him feel guilty. Why would taking advantage of Mois's gullibility be anything to warrant a feeling like this?

_Get your head in the game. If you don't it's your brain on the line. Your consciousness. _Kululu reminded.

But how could he manipulate her to help? They were constantly monitored now by security cameras, unlike his time with Sai. Since they were doing something 'forbidden' she had been quite happy to turn them off and delete any footage that might get her to lose her job. She had said that it had been for the best since she was in the process of changing him with the power of love.

Kululu looked down at Mois. He had to use her though. He needed more than one ally, more than one factor in his escape. One therapist wouldn't cut it.

_Just got to stab her in the back. Betray her trust. It's not like we were friends anyway. She just shoved her own weird feelings on me just like Sai. _Kululu reasoned to himself.

He knew however that Mois's feelings weren't out of sick fantasies of having a romance with a patient. Instead she honestly wanted his friendship and didn't have any power over him, unlike the therapists.

He tried not to think about it.

Instead he tried to figure out how to communicate with her and manipulate her without rousing the person on security cameras suspicion. "Speak any other languages?" Kululu finally asked.

He knew that the doctors and staff were rather dim-witted, and even though they all claimed to have gone to medical school it was very unlikely that they hadn't. That sort of stuff couldn't be completed in a year or two, yet all of the doctors seemed rather young. Heck, any other language stuff they probably used google translate for and didn't know it themselves.

Angol Mois was caught off guard by that question. Of Kululu expressing interest in her life and interests and actually asking her things like he wanted to get to know her better outside of the information she easily volunteered about herself. "Yes."

"I mean besides alien languages. Angolian doesn't count." Kululu rolled his eyes. She had told him plenty of times about her delusions.

"I speak a little bit of english too, but I'm by far the most fluent in french." Angol Mois responded.

_French. Figures. Her name is 'Angol Mois' and if I remember correctly that name originated from a prophecy in France._ She must have been of French descent then. She did look like a foreigner. "I speak french. Ku, ku, ku. Want to practice?"

He was confidant that no one could pick up what they were saying because the staff was dumb. And this would allow him to at least speak with her freely. _Good thing I memorize stuff so quickly. _Although he didn't know if his pronunciation was spot on he did know that he knew a lot of languages, helped since he had a photographic memory.

Angol Mois perked up. Kululu had never suggested doing something together. "Yes!" She answered enthusiastically in french.

Kululu smiled to himself. Now his plotting could began.

He of course tried to put off whoever was listening from telling anyone about them chatting by having a fake flirtatious voice. People always thought french was a romantic language anyway, they wouldn't know that there was nothing romantic going on about the encounter.

He hoped mentally that Sai didn't see the cameras. He really didn't need her getting in a cat fight with Mois or anything.

They talked for a few minutes as Kululu got used to talking to someone, tried to make Mois feel more comfortable with him and trusting, as he did in all sorts of encounters with people he needed to use.

_Okay easy plan. First I need to figure out what uses she could help me with. What purpose she could serve in my plan. Then I need to get her to agree to help me by telling her some sob back story so she trusts me. _Kululu thought to himself.

"Tell me about your group. Tell me about your time in the Hinata House. Do you enjoy being in the first floor?" Kululu asked an innocent enough question, hoping Mois would see it as genuine interest in her life. Really he was just using her for information though.

"No! They won't even let me use my cell phone." Angol Mois answered back, not nearly in as seductive of a tone as Kululu. _I kind of suspect he's not as fluent as he led me to believe. _She decided. Normal people didn't talk like that in causal conversations. "I mean the first floor is very restrictive, but I can imagine it's not as restrictive as up here. There's chain link fences covering the entire courtyard outside, even above our heads so we can't climb out."

Kululu listened intently. So he'd have to somehow break the chain link fence. "Guards?"

"Many. And they watch you all the time. Even when you sleep!" She shivered. "There's nothing you can get away with that they don't see. Even when I'm curled under my sheets in my bed, they're watching me even when my annoying therapist, Pururu, told me that that hurts my restfulness when it comes to sleep! Men watching me makes me uncomfortable."

Kululu hadn't really heard the name of the therapist Pururu. He memorized it and made a mental note. He ignored the little bits of information about Mois, like how that was probably the reason she was very sleepy.

"Well, at least your group is there for you and helps you feel more safe right? What are they like?" Kululu asked. Mois could be used as a tool if need be to gather other pawns- and depending on the usefulness of Mois's group it would make his escape all the easier.

"Not really." Angol Mois shook her head. "I mean besides Fuyuki and Keroro the rest of my group isn't very nice. They don't really pay attention to me."

_Fuyuki. I remember him. _Kululu grinned. There was a pawn that he could use. Someone who thought aliens existed like Mois. It would be very easy to convince Fuyuki that he was a friend not a foe. "He's a nice guy though, right?" _I could use him to convince everyone else that escape is needed, make myself a part of their group so I could travel in a pack, then throw them under the bus when we get caught. _Perfect. Distractions were perfect.

And charismatic people who were gullible were the best. Fuyuki would be quite a useful tool. And he had already met him too!

"What's Keroro like?" Kululu asked.

"He's ummm..." Kululu didn't notice the faint blush on Angol Mois's cheeks, "Anyway there's Tamama in my group too! And I don't want to say he's mean, but he's kind of...mean." She successfully changed the subject.

_Tamama I believe I read was rather strong? He could be useful. And I'm sure if Mois was doing something he'd follow just to be better than her. _Kululu decided. "Who else?"

"Giroro,"

"Oh, I know him!" Kululu grinned broadly. Giroro was the easiest of them all to manipulate and would be very helpful in an escape. He was super tough and his brother would make sure nothing hurt him if Giroro tried to escape- heck he would jump off a cliff if Kululu was holding Giroro hostage and told Garuru to do it to save Giroro's life. _Ku, ku, ku. So plenty of useful fools in group A. _"Continue."

"There's Koyuki and Dororo. Koyuki's a nice girl, we just haven't got much time to talk. She likes hanging out with Dororo and Giroro more than me. And that girl that visits Fuyuki, Natsumi, I believe her name was." Angol Mois frowned a little jealous. "She's trying to be reintegrated into society."

Kululu had read Koyuki's file, but Dororo's he had mysteriously forgotten about. Which was weird because he forgot barely anything. Natsumi wasn't a name he had heard either. "Natsumi a visitor?"

"Fuyuki's older sister. She's strong and angry! Like Giroro!" Mois explained.

_Oh goody! I love people like that. And it's even more useful since she's not a prisoner here. _Kululu grinned. "What about Dororo? Never heard of him."

"He's a druggie. But a nice one! He's kind of a hippie, he keeps talking about nature and pekopon, and all sorts of things." Pekopon was her name for earth.

_Druggies are known to get violent if their drugs are taken away. And his ability to be so easily forgettable...I've never seen anything like it. I think? Have I? I don't know. _Yet another useful person, Kululu decided.

"And then there's Momoka. I'm sure you've heard of her. The Nishizawa heiress-" Angol Mois began.

Kululu's eyes lit up. And with that name, his plan seemed to come to light and connect. Momoka seemed the most important person.

After all with money, he could actually sustain a lifestyle and be able to hide outside of the Hinata House's eyes. And as a last ditch resort if caught he could use the Nishizawa heiress as a hostage, offering her life in exchange for letting him have freedom. The Nishizawa eyes might be all over him trying to track them if they came with, but it would be worth it. Her parents obviously didn't want her cooped up in that place- they were probably ashamed and wanted better things for their daughter.

If he could convince her to come with and that it was her own idea and her own best interests to have him along, then he'd easily be able to escape. But how? What weaknesses did Momoka have? "What sort of things does she like?" Kululu asked.

Angol Mois looked at him a bit oddly. That was such a direct question and an odd one. "Fuyuki." She said easily. "Well, I'm not sure. I think Fuyuki might like her and have invented that she had a crush on him in his fantasy? But at the same time she seems to like him a bit too..." She frowned trying to piece it together.

Kululu grinned widely. _So the most gullible one, Fuyuki, is the key to her heart. The way to manipulate her. _This would be easy then. Fuyuki seemed like the type who would be able to friendship speech everyone to escaping with him if Kululu just convinced him it was his idea.

"Ku, ku, ku, ku!" Kululu laughed menacingly.

_All right. So Mois's proven she's useful. She could relay information to me about group A, and talk to them in my steed. Now, I just have to convince her to trust me and help me just like I did Sai..._Hopefully it wouldn't have to go so far.

Even if Angol Mois checked all the boxes of textbook romantic, into the whole prince charming thing and obsessed with him, he didn't think he could survive doing the things he had with Sai with her. He would die from sparkle overdose. It was odd because he never thought that would be a fear he had. And if Sai found out his plans would be ruined.

"Did I ever tell you the saddest day of my life?" Kululu made up a story to get her to trust him.

Angol Mois shook her head.

"It was when I was a young boy, I fell in love with this girl who was always crying at school. I wanted to be her prince charming and help save her and stop her tears..." Kululu began trying to make up a sappy love story that resembled some sort of fairy tale.

"What do you want?" Angol Mois sighed, apparently even she could see through these things.

"Ku, ku, ku." Kululu laughed for a moment. It had been pretty sappy. No wonder she had seen through it. "I just wanted you to know I trust you." _Giving trust and opening up is the easiest way to get someone to trust you. _

"Kululu..." Angol Mois walked over to him and put her tea sets down. He nervously tried to get away, but could not as she reached over to his face.

He thought she was going to do a number of things to him- poison him, strangle him, do something to terrify him, but instead she put her hand on his hair, a sensation that he had never really felt before. She pat his head.

Even though he was running on low sleep it felt rather relaxing. "I'm your friend." She finally told him. "If there's anything you need, just tell me, I'll do it for you. You don't have to manipulate me into it." She had heard from Garuru about his manipulation tactics.

And Mois wasn't scared. Because she didn't see the problem with just giving him what he wanted.

Kululu's lip quivered. He hadn't ever been presented with the option of not manipulating someone before. "W-what...What do you know about a...A l-lobotomy?" He finally stuttered out in french.

It was hard to understand him. But Angol Mois thought for a moment. "They've been outlawed for a long time. But back in the day they were the main treatment that was used on mental patients. It took away their mind, their ability to process fear, other emotions that make people real...They lose themselves. It changes someone into just a living hunk of flesh. But it's been deemed inhumane and has long since been outlawed. You could say, against the law?" She told him.

"T-they're..." _Don't. Stop. Don't do this whole thing of trusting someone. You can't deal with that. Not on top of all of this. You have too much already on your plate. _"Going to give me one." He was to tired to protest his stupid ideas and he just blurted out what frightened him so much.

He could tell Mois one secret. It was a big secret, but it was enough.

Her expression turned to horror and she said exactly the thing that he wanted her to say- "We have to get you out of here." She put her hands on his arms.

And he knew from her voice that she wasn't saying that for her own sake like so many people he had convinced to help him in the past. She honestly wanted him to be safe for his sake. _Peh. I've decided I hate self-sacrificial people. They're too terrifying. _

"Can't. I'm very closely guarded and there's incredibly high security. I could never be sneaked out on my own." Kululu told her.

"But...If I had my spear, my cell phone," Mois spoke.

Kululu ignored her. "However, if others were to escape as a distraction and aid me...Perhaps I could make it out. If your group decided to escape, for example."

Angol Mois nodded. "They don't listen to me."

"They don't need to. You just need to plant the seeds in their head. And bring me someone who they will listen to. Mois, I need you to bring someone else with you next time."

"Bring me Fuyuki." He ordered and grinned.

Angol Mois nodded. She'd do just that. "I will." She promised.

And Kululu believed her. She didn't need to know the extent of his planning, but she'd help in her own way.

Kululu was beginning to suspect that he had chosen her for the job not because she was gullible or had information, because she had little to offer that Fuyuki didn't, but because of the moral support.

He had never had that before. And it felt nice.

Mois bid him good-night and for once since he had heard the lobotomy he felt a little bit calmer. And then he remembered that Angol Mois had pat his head and he freaked out again.

Some things didn't get any better.

* * *

**The main characters of this fic (Kululu and Fuyuki) are finally going to meet and talk more! Yay!**

**Please review.**


	21. Everything You Know Is Right

**Anyway here's the next chapter. Lot's of Fuyuki in this one!**

* * *

The lights were always blaring- it was like they were never turned off. And there was this constant beeping of the heart monitor, it was so hard to sleep with it.

Fuyuki just tried to imagine it was alien technology. He tried to drift off as his body healed.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head!" A soft voice of a female was above him. He could barely make out their shape besides the fact that they were short.

_Momoka? _He thought to himself, smiling and almost puckering his mouth in a way that confused him, what was he expecting? His hand drifted upwards to her hair to feel her short almost spiky hair.

"Um...Fuyuki, I'm a spoken for woman! I have eyes for Mr. Keroro only!" The voice greeted him.

_Is this a nightmare...? My best friend running off with Momoka? _Fuyuki asked. His eyes finally adjusted to where he was and he saw Mois above him.

_Fiddlesticks! It was just Mois! _Fuyuki was disappointed. He didn't know why he was disappointed, but something was more annoying than usual about Mois being there.

"Am I still in the hospital?" Fuyuki asked trying his best to get coherent thoughts out.

"Yep!" Mois nodded.

"I thought I wasn't allowed visitors...? Am I getting discharged today?" He did feel better. His bones had finally healed except he still had to wear a cast on one arm.

"You aren't, but I came up here anyway!" Mois hummed.

"How, I thought you needed an elevator key? Did you climb the walls like Koyuki's been doing to give me a gift basket?" Fuyuki asked.

Mois shrugged, "Lock-picked the elevator, opened the door, then hacked the controls." She said matter-of-factually. "Anyway, that doesn't matter!"

Fuyuki just didn't know what to say. He was a bit stunned. He never took Mois as someone who picked locks. But she did seem to be the type of person that invaded people's personal space and boundaries so that's maybe why she needed such a skill?

She sat on his bed, way too close to him for comfort. If he wanted a personal nurse, his first choice wouldn't have been Mois. Admittedly she wouldn't be his last choice either, she might be a little more competent than the sarge, Tamama, or even Giroro. Especially not Kululu though. Boy did he not even want to think about that.

"I wanted to see you." She whispered.

_Uh-oh! I've heard about these sort of things from, sarge. These are 'love flags' that I'm triggering like I'm in some sort of shoujo manga. She's about to confess! _And he had an IV in his arm and couldn't free himself. He tried to struggle away.

He couldn't, "Mois, I think it would be best if we just remained friends, I mean you're an alien, I'm a human boy, it would just never work out..." Fuyuki began.

Mois gave him a look like, _'What the heck are you thinking about?' _"I wanted to talk to you about something other than whatevers going through your strange mind." She flashed her hand, specifically showing him the ring finger that had nothing on it. "Didn't I tell you? Spoken for! I'm Mr. Keroro's girl!"

Fuyuki nodded. He didn't really want to get involved in that and imply that Keroro might not be interested. "So why did you want to see me?"

"I really wanted to know if I could introduce you to a friend of mine." Angol Mois offered, "I think you two could easily get along!"

Fuyuki smiled. He liked friends. "Maybe when I'm discharged? Who's the friend." He was always happy to meet more aliens.

"Kululu. You know, the guy on the fourth floor?" Angol Mois smiled, peppily.

Fuyuki's smile dropped as he remembered sergeant major Kululu. He also briefly remembered the horror stories that Giroro had told him...

He didn't want to go up there. He tried to shake his head, but Mois wouldn't take no for an answer.

"You could say, it's a date? See you tonight!" Mois waved and then she vanished just as mysteriously as she arrived.

Fuyuki no longer wanted to be discharged.

* * *

"You sure you're ready?" Pururu asked, "It's okay if you want to stay here another week."

It was lonely on the third floor. And Fuyuki didn't really want to stay there, even if later that day he'd have to face the fourth floor.

_But I promised Giroro I wouldn't go up there. _Fuyuki remembered. But why was Giroro preventing him? Why did he feel like he was being oddly controlled, like he was a prisoner on where to go in his own house?

_Oh! I get it. He didn't want me to go up because Kululu's hiding away an invasion plan! _Fuyuki smiled.

That and Giroro hadn't come to save him when he needed him. Momoka had. Fuyuki had cried for Giroro, but of course Giroro didn't come. He wasn't his sister and Giroro didn't hear his screams as much as he would have heard Natsumi's.

He was a little miffed. "I'm fine. And I'm ready to return to the outside world."

Pururu gave a sad look to Fuyuki. He wasn't ever going to be on the outside world. "Umm...Okay." She pretended to agree, to ease his feelings.

And after taking the needles out of him and escorting him downstairs, Fuyuki was finally free.

All of his friends from group A greeted him.

"You're all right, Fuyuki! I was so worried about you!" Keroro threw his arms over his roommate. He hugged him and cried.

Pururu smiled. It was nice to see Keroro making friends that he didn't use.

"Are you okay, Fuyuki? Is there anything you need me to do? You were tough. I'm so glad you aren't dead." Giroro looked so concerned as he looked Fuyuki over like a mother hen. "Your sister visited a lot. She wasn't allowed to see you, but she was really worried about you. She'll be happy to know you're okay. Pururu!" Giroro yelled over to her.

Pururu ran over.

"You should call Natsumi and allow her to visit." Giroro suggested, "She needs to see that her brother is doing all right."

"Visiting hours are over," Pururu reminded.

"You can disobey protocol, right? Convince your bosses it would be in their best interest to give her more visiting time since Fuyuki almost died because of their incompetence." Giroro ordered coldly.

"I can't disobey protocol. You of all people should know that protocol is very important-" Pururu lectured.

"Funny, you seemed so happy to disobey protocol the other day with Garuru." Giroro almost sounded like he was black mailing Pururu, his voice was dismissive.

Pururu blushed. "I'll get right on it, asking if Natsumi can be allowed to visit." She ran off.

Everybody else pat Fuyuki to make sure he was there. Tamama offered him some candy, that being all he could do. "I saved you this piece! That's how worried I was for you."

"I know what it's like to be sickly." Dororo sighed, "I'm just...I'm glad you're okay."

"Me and Natsumi folding cranes to wish for your good health." Koyuki smiled.

"I...I...I can't believe that happened to you." Momoka looked like she wanted to reach out and grab his hand, but they weren't allowed to touch. She was just her usual shy self. "Yanda will never bother you again though."

Fuyuki just smiled. "I'm glad that you're all here to support me!" And they really were. They were all so happy to see him, so nice.

He truly felt better.

* * *

Natsumi came as quick as she could, about an hour later. She threw her arms around Fuyuki and held him close.

"Giroro called me and said you were okay." Natsumi told him, "I'm so relieved."

Giroro beamed. He had done something right for once!

"You used up your one phone call on a girl?" Keroro scolded, "Don't you have family?"

"Garuru works here." Giroro reminded.

Keroro just nodded. Still that was lame that he had done that.

"I got so worried, Fuyuki. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. I've already lost Mom, grandma, dad...They're all gone. You're the only family I have left. I don't care how hard I need to work to keep you safe, I'll do it. So please don't almost die again?" She begged.

Fuyuki didn't know what she was talking about, but she was crying. So he let her hold him. "It's all right. I'm fine, sis."

"But you could have been not fine!" Natsumi reminded. "They didn't protect you-"

"It's nobody's fault but Yanda's. It was just an accident." Fuyuki smiled, "I'll try to protect myself and return the favor by protecting others in return."

Natsumi just held him tightly and cried. Giroro made sure that nobody was able to interrupt their touching reunion.

_Sorry, sis. I know I'm going to protect myself, but Kululu's not that dangerous. And I need to know what he's up to and protect the planet. _Fuyuki knew he was a liar, but hopefully Natsumi wouldn't be hurt in the process.

She didn't need to cry anymore.

* * *

Eventually the evening came. As promised, Angol Mois came into Fuyuki's room. The lights were out, it was night time and it was especially rare to see her active.

"It's time." She told him, making sure she wouldn't wait Keroro.

Fuyuki nodded and let her lead him to the elevator. He was surprised with just how much ease she broke into the controls. "Where did you learn that?" He finally asked.

Angol Mois looked at him incredulously like he was about to accuse her of not being an alien or something. "Breaking into things or hacking control panels?"

"Both." Fuyuki hadn't ever remembered that about Mois. But he didn't really pay attention to her much so maybe that made sense of it.

"I've always been rather good at hacking, I enjoy technology. Especially my cell phone!" Angol Mois perked up. "And I learned how to break into things and hide from staff members in _that _place, that other institution." She frowned. "They told me where the security cameras were usually located to. How staff usually sets up the patterns of these sort of things...So I'm pretty good at avoiding them."

"Why didn't you, I mean they, want you to be on camera?" Fuyuki asked a pretty innocent question.

Mois pushed him into the elevator. "I guess even though they were all sinful even they knew it would be easier if the courts didn't have evidence." She sighed.

She pressed the '4' button and the two of them went up on that horrible note.

Kululu had told Sai to disengage the cameras. It had been easy to convince her to, he had been honest that Fuyuki was going to visit him and that he was trying to make a difference because he wanted to make friends in his life.

"You're great, Sai. But to be a normal person, to make us work, I need more people in my life. I guess this sounds really sappy but you've changed me I really want to try to make progress." Kululu had told her.

She happily fell for it and disengaged the cameras so he could meet with Fuyuki. She wasn't sure how Fuyuki was going to get up there, but she shrugged and kept in her puppy love state of bliss and not questioning things.

Mois brought Fuyuki to Kululu's room. Fuyuki gulped as he saw the danger signs and Mois opened the doors, bypassing the retinal scanner as if it was nothing by taking something out of her pocket.

"What did you take out?" Fuyuki asked. It looked a little bit round.

"Eyeball." She said simply. Fuyuki looked horrified. "Don't worry! I didn't kill them!" She reassured. "I found the staff member dead a while back, they had tripped on some soap in the ladies bathroom, but I thought to myself, 'Well Mois, there's no reason not to make them useful!' and I got key cards and all sorts of useful things." She chittered enthusiastically. "They're still a missing person, I think. You could say, easy as flushing a goldfish?"

Fuyuki didn't know what to say. He was feeling dizzy and nauseous. No wonder Mois was considered a dangerous person. She didn't even know what she was saying was wrong!

Angol Mois walked into the room. Fuyuki sucked in his breath as he saw the mannequin like Kululu again. He tried not to think about the connotations that were involved while looking at Kululu's hair. That Kululu had hair and could be human.

Angol Mois walked up to Kululu with ease and unhooked his mask. "Well then, this is Fuyuki!" She walked between them.

Kululu grinned dastardly. "I know. You ran out before you could join me in here. Ku, ku, ku."

Fuyuki started shaking his head. He didn't want to be there.

"And this, as you know is Kululu!" Angol Mois introduced. "Uhhh, Fuyuki are you all right?"

Fuyuki was shaking. His knees had buckled under him as he looked at all the wires around the room, the straight jacket, Kululu's spiral glasses, and most frightening of all, his smile. It looked like it was baring into his soul, like Kululu would destroy him with a word.

"I have that effect on people." Kululu sounded a little proud, despite the situation. Frightening people always did make him feel like he was less frightened himself.

Mois looked a bit like she'd scold him. She sent just a glance over and the feeling of superiority vanished and Kululu started shivering. "Stop that! You can leave or something so I can talk to him alone!"

"Don't leave me." Fuyuki begged trying to grab onto Angol Mois's ankle.

Angol Mois kicked him off. "All right, I'll leave. Have a nice play date! I'll be back at 11!" She waved like she was a mom dropping her kids off at preschool for the first time.

Kululu sighed as soon as she left. He could finally be as big of a frightening jerk as he was meant to be, while still convincing Fuyuki to trust him.

"So Fuyuki Hinata..." Kululu grinned, "What brings you here?"

"Mois dragged me." Fuyuki sighed honestly.

"No, I mean to the Hinata House." Kululu corrected, impatiently.

"Oh. Well, it's my house." Fuyuki smiled. "Did you forget? Think it was your own place or something?"

Kululu frowned for a moment. It could have been his domain if this lobotomy wasn't happening. _Telling, telling, so he thinks this is his house. It is a bad coincidence that it shares his last name. Ku, ku, ku. But why would he want to leave his own house?_

"Fuyuki Hinata, you know how everybody's trying to convince you that we're not aliens, right?" Kululu decided to do this by feeding into Fuyuki's delusions.

Fuyuki's eyes lit up. He knew that! It was some scheme by the men in white. Although some of them were nice, like Sai, most of them were rather odd. But the way Kululu talked it was like he wasn't denying that he was an alien. "You mean, you're not going to deny what's happening?"

"Of course I'm not." Kululu spoke with high authority, like it was obvious. Fuyuki's eyes gleamed- maybe Kululu wasn't as dangerous as he thought, he certainly didn't look dangerous when Mois was looking at him and touching him.

That had kind of killed any fear he had had for Kululu.

"After all I'm an alien. That's pretty plain and simple, right? The-" He tried to wait for Fuyuki to feed into his own delusions.

"Sarge," Fuyuki offered up.

"Yes. Captain told us as this invasion plan to change into humans, but that was what the men in white wanted. They caught us, and so we've been trying to pretend to be human to settle their suspicions that we're aliens." Kululu told Fuyuki, his voice with a fake honest tone.

Fuyuki nodded. Everything made sense now. "Why are you telling me this? I thought you didn't like me. I mean the only one you like is Saburo!" Fuyuki laughed, "I guess it makes enough sense, Saburo is pretty cool." He liked Saburo.

Hadn't seen him for a while. Probably because he was staying at home all the time.

Kululu told him. "I don't dislike you, Fuyuki." He told him, "I'm just not the sort of guy who's really good at being up front with his feelings. I saw you as sort of a fellow nerd, and I sort of admired your passion even if it was rather gross and a little creepy, not as cool as my nerdiness." Kululu boasted. Was this what he was like in Fuyuki's fantasies? He had to be a little true to his character. "Ku, ku, ku."

"Ah yeah! Cuz you're a nerd too! You like to invent things!" Fuyuki grinned. "And lecture about how everything works."

Kululu frowned. Even though he himself had called himself a nerd, he didn't like other people doing it. _Calm down. It's to keep your brain. _He reminded. "I have to tell you about the Hinata House, Fuyuki. It's not your house. You're confused, it just happens to have the same name. This is the base of the men in white, they've locked you up in this place and are keeping you here against your will- keeping all of us!"

Fuyuki looked shocked. That made sense too. "But then why don't I remember that? Why does Natsumi keep visiting me if I'm locked up against my will? Why is Garuru here? He's an alien."

Kululu tried to come up with an answer on the fly. "Memory manipulation." He answered. "They've made everyone but me and you forget about aliens and who we truly are. Ku, ku, ku. That's why your memories are a little jumbled."

Fuyuki hit his head. "It was so freakin obvious!"

"Garuru and Pururu broke in to free you guys, but they erased their memories too. They're observing what they do like an experiment. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu explained, "And Natsumi? They let her run free, but she's under their watchful eyes...Who knows if they'll ever trap her too, experiment on her to see what makes her tick..." Kululu was careful with each word.

Fuyuki's hand flew to his arm, the one with the bandage from all his blood draws. His sister might go through his horror too? The pills every morning must have been to keep him pleasant, to keep him from fighting back.

"What do I do...?" Fuyuki asked. He was so scared. So nervous.

"Just know that you have a friend in me for now. And maybe...Consider talking to your friends, not about what's happening in the facility how it's because of the men in white, they're always listening so don't tip them off." Kululu advised, "Talk to them about if they have any reasons to leave this place. Escape. What awaits them on the outside world. And grab onto that. Make them desire it even with the memory manipulation."

Fuyuki nodded, following Kululu's ever word. He was gullible as heck and very easily manipulated. "You know sergeant major, you're not nearly as bad of a guy as I thought! You're more honest than anyone else I've talked to here."

Kululu nodded. "Don't tell anyone. It would embarrass me. Just know, I'm here to help you. You'll save your friends, right?" He tried to sound noble.

"I promise I will. I'll save your entire platoon!" Fuyuki promised, "Koyuki, Momoka and Mois too!"

"And at the very end, you'll remember me too, right? After all I'm an alien, and I can help you more than anyone else can. Since I know what the men in white are up to." Kululu told him. "I just can't get out on my own. They put me up here because I know too much."

Fuyuki put his hand over his heart, he understood. "I'll remember you. Because you're an alien and a precious member of sarge's platoon and we-"

"Can be friends." Kululu tried to give a gentle smile. It was hard. He thought he heard cracking from it.

Fuyuki tried not to shudder. The door opened and Angol Mois popped in.

"Should I take Fuyuki back now? Are you done?" She asked.

"Just about. He knows what he has to do to save us all." Kululu pretended to sound noble.

"Mmkay! Save us all now, Fuyuki!" Angol Mois played along. "Our fate is in your hands." She clasped Fuyuki's hands and smiled, like he was some sort of hero.

"Put the mask back on before they realize someone took it off." Kululu ordered, trying to hide his frown. He knew Angol Mois was pretending to be all close to Fuyuki for his sake, but oddly enough it sounded genuine too. And he didn't know why he disliked it.

Angol Mois put the mask on. "Sleep well, Kululu! Good night!"

And the two of them left.

Kululu didn't think he could get a good night's sleep. But seeing how easy Fuyuki was to manipulate made it a lot easier.

And Fuyuki too felt that for once, things were finally starting to make sense in this place.

* * *

**Please review.**


	22. Idiot

**Another chapter of this...I'm honestly surprised how little happened this chapter yet how long it is. Basically if the bullet point has kurumois in the chapter description of what I'm supposed to write, very little plot wise probably happens that chapter.**

**I'll try to make the next one better.**

* * *

Waiting was hard. He didn't trust nor rely on Fuyuki to do the job he told him to do. Kululu knew he had completely tricked him, but he didn't know if Fuyuki was charismatic enough to convince everyone else to escape – and convince them to let him go with him.

_I suppose Mois will remind him and make sure I come along too. _Secretly he was afraid that they'd forget about him, that they'd leave him and not break him out.

He needed to get Sai to want a life on the outside world. Then she'd be prepared to help break him out too, be useful in releasing him so he wouldn't need someone else to break his chains. It would be an easy enough task- she was also easy to trick.

Heck, the only one he hadn't tricked was Mois. Even if he had tried. She had just offered her help without him having to prod it out of her. That was just the sort of person she was.

_I wonder why she'd go so far for me..._Kululu wondered. She was betraying the rest of group A and willingly let Kululu manipulate them to escape, something not in their best interests, since if they were caught their time remaining would be at least doubled. They'd be monitored quite a lot more.

Even Mois herself had reasons for not leaving. She had mentioned quite a few times that she believed her cell phone was her lucifer spear and she couldn't live without it. But likely they would not be able to retrieve any items that had been taken from them and her comfort item would just have to be left at the Hinata House.

_Why would she sacrifice the chance to get her cell phone back just for me? _Kululu wondered. That didn't sound normal to him. The niceness.

Slowly he tried to process why someone would do something like this for him. In all his experiences people only did things for him if they wanted something, the female therapists that he had seduced wanted his love, people always wanted something for their own personal gain.

Mois had to be the same way. _Ah. I finally get it! _It was like a light had gone off in his head. All the sappy romance books, all the time she had spent with him looking at him. He hated to say it or even think it, but Mois was likely the same as those female therapists, desperate for companionship and in love with him.

Well, he didn't know if 'in love' was the right words. She didn't seem as pushy at the subject of entering a relationship with him. Maybe she just had a crush.

Oddly enough when Kululu thought of this fact, it didn't fill him with disgust. It didn't fill him with much of anything except for this weird knot in this stomach, like he liked the idea of her having a crush on him. Something about it...Was desirable.

_I don't WANT it. What am I thinking about? That's weird. But I guess not as weird as her feelings for me. _He felt himself smiling though. She had never been pushy despite her feelings. She might have thought he was some sort of prince charming to her, which was weird, but he could see her thinking since she read him fairy tales so much, but she was never over the top romantic to him. Just shy.

She was willing to help him despite the fact that he had no obligation to get together with her after this. _Unless she thinks that when we're out of here we're going to have the whole fairy tale romance thing?_ Kululu realized. That did sound like something she'd truly believe. That they'd do that kissing thing, and pledging of some sort of feelings. After all he was probably princely in her mind.

_Wait a minute. She's saving me. Does that make her the prince charming figure? _Kululu didn't want to think of himself as a damsel in distress. But that was pretty much what he was.

He'd take what he could get. But the aspect of escape and a fairy tale reunion wasn't displeasing. It's probably because her stories had melted her brain. He knew they would do that eventually.

"So...You've been making progress, Kululu." Garuru was no longer his therapist, but it was still deemed more appropriate for him to feed Kululu and bath him than Sai. The Hinata House didn't want to make their patients too uncomfortable by having people of different sexes in awkward situations. And for that Kululu was thankful. At least they did one thing right.

"Ku, ku, ku. Sure have. I just so want to turn over a new leaf!" Kululu bragged and tried to lie.

Garuru didn't raise an eyebrow. He didn't look like he believed him. Kululu had tried this plenty of times before to escape. Pretending to be good.

The only thing different about it this time, was that Garuru did believe some aspects of it. After all Kululu was different. He was showing a lot more nervousness. "You've been showing a lot more...Interesting behaviors, like nervousness."

Kululu tried to keep his heart rate steady and keep calm. _Crap! Do they know that I found out about the lobotomy? That I'm scared for it? _"Oh? Whatever do you mean? I wouldn't be scared of anything except your body odor-" Kululu clamped his mouth shut. It was so hard not to be a jerk! It just came natural to him and he always slipped up like this.

Garuru looked irritated. But he tried to keep his voice calm. "I didn't say you were scared. I said you were nervous. What does a cute girl scare you or something?"

"Yes." Kululu said almost instantly.

Garuru was taken aback. "I guess you did mention that you didn't like Mois coming to visit." He wasn't going to let her stop though as long as Kululu was uncomfortable.

_Ah. So they're just talking about my nervousness around Mois. Thank god. _Kululu was relieved. That was one fear he was okay with having, even if it was weird.

"You've been changing ever since she came. I mean it took a while-" Garuru continued.

_That's because I've been acting, idiot! And it's because of Sai's therapy, not Mois. That's what you're supposed to believe at least! _Kululu thought angrily to himself.

"But you have been changing, to...A little happier? I mean I guess it's normal, I just didn't think people like you could develop feelings. Have you ever even had a crush before or is this completely new?" Garuru ran his fingers through his hair, "Crap patients aren't supposed to be developing relationships like this with each other. Maybe I shouldn't have let her visit."

"Whoa, hold up now. You think I have a crush on Mois or something?" Kululu was shocked by that accusation. That was completely wrong! Sure, he hadn't had a crush before but if he had he would have probably known what it was like. It couldn't be that hard to decipher. "Ku, ku, ku! That's a riot! I mean she's obviously the one who likes me, not the other way around."

Garuru stopped cleaning him to look at him for a moment completely confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she reads those sappy romance books to me every day! And then she keeps looking at me and smiling and saying how much she cares for our friendship. It's pretty obvious that she's into me." Kululu knew he shouldn't really be letting Garuru into his personal life, but he would rather throw Angol Mois under the bus than himself. And he didn't really mind Garuru knowing she had a crush on him.

Garuru just looked puzzled. All of those reasons sounded like Kululu was just reading too much into it. "You do know that one of the key symptoms of having a crush is reading into your crushes behavior as romantic, right? I mean from what you just told me it sounds like you want her to like you and so you're giving her reasons to..."

Kululu frowned. He didn't want Garuru to think this. "You're not my therapist anymore. You don't have to analyze my behavior." At least Garuru wasn't suspecting the evil Kululu was coming up with to escape. His head was wrapping around his relationship with Mois.

"Okay...Sure..." Garuru felt like he was changing the subject. He was weirded out, but he felt almost sorry for Kululu in a way since he had heard Mois talk about Keroro on the floor below. "Just, I suppose if you want to talk about girls, man to man..."

"EW! Stop big brothering me! Don't you have your own brother to lecture about girls?" Kululu gagged.

"He won't listen to me." Garuru revealed his real problem. "But you're right. It's not my job to help you develop real feelings."

Kululu was glad he was spared the awkward conversation. He had no idea that Garuru just meant that he was passing it off to Kululu's real therapist, Sai Uru.

* * *

Kululu hadn't given it much of a passing thought, what Sai would think of his friendship with Mois. She'd probably support it wanting her 'boyfriend' to have more friends and girls she could talk to.

He doubted, since Mois had a crush on him and all, that she'd like his relationship and use of Sai at all. It was something he never ever hoped to tell her about. It could just remain in the 'not important' secret bin.

Still Sai walked into his room in an angry huff. "Kululu! You traitor!"

_Uh-oh. Crap. Did she find out about my escape plan? _Kululu was freaking out eternally. Was all that seducing of Sai for nothing? He still needed her. "W-what, my darling?" He tried to be romantic. Sappy words like darling were something unnecessary and dumb, but he'd use them to get people's trust.

"Garuru told me..." Sai got all teary eyed, "That you've been seeing another girl! And that you're in love with her! I thought you wanted me. That you loved me." She teared up and looked at Kululu. "Or was I...The other girl and you were just trying to get her attention!"

Kululu couldn't believe how petty adults were getting jealous over a teenager. Mois was in his age range, unlike Sai!

"Garuru was mistaken." He didn't even feel the need to panic, or be seductive. "I told him how Mois has a crush on me, and he assumed I liked her back. She means nothing to me. You're the only one in my eyes." Kululu reassured.

Sai sniffled but smiled. "Mois? You mean from group A? She has a crush on you? My boyfriend?"

"Don't get in a fight with her for my sake. It could get you fired." Kululu reminded. "But yeah, she does have a crush on me. Garuru I suppose wanted you to talk to me about romantic relationships, but well, we both know that we've already talked and that you're teaching me."

Sai frowned. "But I don't want another girl going after my boyfriend! I suppose I'll just have to let our relationship become public..."

Kululu smiled to himself. This was the perfect time to lay his trap. "No, baby. You'd get in trouble. After all I'm not on the outside world. We'd never truly be together unless I was able to be free and provide for you."

Sai's eyes twinkled. "But you can't. You're dangerous."

"But I'm not anymore. You changed me, remember? But it makes me think that the only way we could become public if I was on the outside. Mois can't know that I'm taken until then." Kululu pointed out.

Sai frowned. "You'd...Provide for me on the outside?"

"I know I don't have much, but Sai...I love you. I wish I had my hands because if I did I would give you a ring. I want to spend the rest of my life with you-" Kululu drawled.

"I will marry you!" Sai squealed. "But how can we get you cured and on the outside so we can start having children together?"

"It's very simple, really." Kululu finally said, "You have to get me out of here. Only then can we run off together and be happy."

Sai looked slightly afraid at the premise of doing something illegal.

"It's all right!" Kululu prodded her, "I have a plan that will allow us to have friends so we're all together. And then there's a friend I have on the outside that will give us fake identities." He lied. "You can put it out of your mind and not help directly. All you have to do is do what I say."

Sai looked a bit frightened. "...Okay..." she finally agreed.

Kululu grinned. "It's a good plan too! It'll help you do better at your job. I want my girlfriend to be happy after all."

Sai looked at him her eyes full of trust. She nodded. How silly was she to think he liked Angol Mois? He was going to marry her!

"I'll arrange for Mois to not have those group meetings with you though while we wait for you to be free and for us to have a life together." Sai told him, "I can't have another girl thinking she'll be with you."

Kululu tried not to look annoyed. "But Sai. I need friends to communicate with!"

"Well then who would you like as a replacement?"

"Fuyuki." Kululu said quickly. Then he could at least communicate his commands to someone. Still he was disappointed that Mois would be separated from him for a time.

_Shouldn't have let Sai know about her. Crap. _Kululu thought to himself.

At least everything else Sai related was running smoothly.

* * *

Fuyuki sat in front of his group members, chewing on his lip. How should he word this? How should he prod them into wanting to escape- to leave.

"Do you guys ever...Want to go outside again? To the outside world?" Fuyuki asked.

"Sure we do." Keroro shrugged, "Doesn't everyone?"

"Then why don't you?" Fuyuki asked. "Why don't we just leave?" His voice was barely a whisper. He knew what he was suggestion- escape. Yet he doubted any of his brainwashed friends would want it.

Koyuki jumped up first. "I would love to leave! I've been trying to break out for the last year, with my kites and my climbing, but the security is top notch!"

"Lady Koyuki." Dororo's hand slinked over under the table and the watchful eyes of the therapists to her hand. Only small moments of hand holding were the moments they could steal. They hadn't ever had anything more, even not a hug even though they constantly looked like they wanted to hug. "I don't want you to leave." Dororo said rather selfishly. "Without you here, I'd be truly alone."

Koyuki smiled. She was okay with Dororo being selfish. He rarely was so.

"Dude, I'm here. Your childhood friend!" Keroro reminded, "Giroro would visit every so often too so he's your childhood friend too."

Apparently that wasn't something Garuru knew. Giroro's Mom and Giroro had never visited him- only Keroro and Dororo apparently. Sure sucked for him.

"Yeah, but you always stole my toys and bullied me." Dororo scrunched up his nose. "You always exploited me. You're the worst. You're no friend of mine."

"You could say, an ex?"

"Uhhhh, yeah Mois...You _could_ say that..." Keroro looked very awkward at that wording. He and Dororo avoided eye contact for a moment as Dororo looked angry and Keroro looked extremely awkward.

"And Giroro wasn't there for me either! He didn't stop you from bullying me! He just wanted to do his own thing and always have sleep overs at my house instead of the other way around! He was using me." Dororo frowned.

"You have got to stop being so petty. There are bigger problems than your own." Giroro hissed angry that Dororo was mad at him. "I didn't even have a house in your country."

"Oh...Oh yeah...Sorry, it's just so easy to be bitter all the time. That's why the drugs are so nice. It's nice to be happy and free!" Dororo smiled.

"Anyway guys..." Fuyuki tried to get back on subject, "Have you ever maybe entertained a dream about..." he went to a whisper again, "Escaping? I mean having a happy life on the outside?"

It was weird to see Fuyuki talk like this. It was almost scheming. Even Momoka was rather weirded out and confused by his change in tone.

"No, never. I like it here." Dororo responded. "This place exploits me about as much as the outside world. And it's better to be complaint. Maybe someday I'll get better, but there's no rush to healing. It has to be natural." He gave a hippies word.

Giroro nodded. "I hate to agree with him, since he thinks I'm such a terrible friend or something." He shot Dororo a glare, "But I agree. There's no rush to healing, it has to be natural. And I want to heal. To do that I have to be here, so I can get out the normal way." Giroro was confident he could. He needed to. For Natsumi's sake.

Fuyuki frowned. _But they'll never let you out! They'll never let you heal! It's never going to happen. _"Sarge? Momoka?" he asked hopefully.

"My lawyers are trying to get me out of this place." Momoka admitted. "It's an uphill legal battle. Leaving and saying 'frick this I'm out of here I'm Mistress Momoka!'" She got a bit loud at that part.

Fuyuki was surprised.

"Wouldn't be the greatest idea. It might hurt my chances in the legal battle. But I suppose for the right reasons I could see myself making an irrational decision like that." Momoka rubbed her cheek.

"The right reasons? Like your parents attention or something?" Tamama asked.

Momoka glared at him. It was true that her parents weren't around much in her early childhood and didn't even visit her in the hospital, but she knew they cared. They were just too busy traveling the world for their various jobs. They didn't know how much help she needed. "No. I meant for Fuyuki." She rolled her eyes.

Fuyuki blushed.

"Because the me in Fuyuki's stories is always doing that." Momoka reminded.

They all giggled. They didn't know if Momoka would actually do something like that, now that they thought about it. That did sound like her. But Fuyuki very clearly had more of a crush on her than she did of him. At least from what they saw.

"Well I like it here too! It has Momocchi and Keroro after all!" Tamama hugged both of their arms. "So I would never leave."

Fuyuki frowned. That was a lot of people against the idea of escape. He'd put Momoka down as a maybe.

"I would leave. I should be gone already after all." Keroro decided. "I guess I'd just go where every one else goes. That sounds like me." Keroro nodded.

"I think escape would be a great thing to do." Angol Mois clapped, playing along. Nobody really listened to her.

Fuyuki felt glum. He'd have to figure out a way to get all of his friends to want to leave.

He didn't know why but every moment staying in there longer than possible felt unsettling.

* * *

**I need to somehow make Taruru be mentioned before they escape. I've been forgetting about him and I'd feel bad if the story ends and I never mention the three other members of the Garuru platoon. I need a complete platoon.**

**Please review.**


	23. Bills Upon Bills

**Lots happens this chapter. A motive for everybody to leave and back story for Dororo.**

* * *

Kululu listened to Fuyuki talk about how things were going. His complaints. It seemed like a lot of group A didn't actually want to leave.

_I suppose I'll just have to give them all a motive. _Kululu decided. Fuyuki surely had one, he hung onto Kululu's every word about aliens.

It would be easy to manipulate the system through Sai, and give each and every patient he needed a motive to leave.

* * *

Natsumi was no patient, but from what Kululu had heard about her she was tough. And she had a knowledge of the outside world that nobody else did.

She was Fuyuki's sister so she obviously had an attachment to him. She looked to be a useful pawn and he needed her to come along with them.

"What's this?" Natsumi said to herself as she shuffled through the letters in her mailbox. It was usually all bills. She was barely getting by as if, but because of all the jobs she worked she was scraping by. She had stopped using utilities as much in her house but Fuyuki's hospital bills were so expensive.

She needed him to stay at the Hinata House though. If she failed at paying one of the bills he'd become a ward of the state and they'd transfer him to a place she couldn't visit. Not only that but her visitor privilege would be revoked because of her debt.

She'd never be able to see her brother again until he got better. And that might not be ever. And since he was her last living family member she had to prevent that.

She would have assumed her mother had left her more money, Aki had been constantly working, but apparently they were only scraping by from her income as well. Still, at least they had payed off their mortgage in full and owned the house. A living space was at least enough.

Same with her grandma. She had left some money to Natsumi, but Natsumi would only be able to access it when she was an adult, basically 20 years old. And that wouldn't happen for a while.

Her good for nothing father was still wondering around somewhere. Natsumi didn't know where he was- but since he and Aki were still legally married he must have gotten what remained of her income and cash after her death. He really didn't deserve it. He hadn't even come to her funeral.

Natsumi looked down in horror at her new letter in her hand. The bills of the Hinata House due early. _This can't be...This has to be a mistake...I thought I had another two weeks. _She couldn't afford this. Her pay check hadn't come in.

And the amount that she needed had been doubled again. Natsumi held the letter and crumpled it, her legs crumpling below her. She let out a cry of anguish.

There was no way she could pay that. Her brother...Fuyuki...He'd be lost to her forever.

_I'll never see him again! _Natsumi sniffled. But there was no escaping her terrible fate. She just had to curse whatever person had sent her the bill.

She was unaware the person went by the name of Sai Uru.

* * *

"I need you to do a few things for me, Sai." Kululu had told her.

"...Are they bad things?" Sai asked, having a little reverence.

"Oh no." Kululu lied, "They'll help you do even better of a job than normal!"

Sai perked up and listened.

"First off I noticed something that was done inefficiently by you..." Kululu trailed off, "You forgot to send the Hinata girl, Fuyuki's sister, her bills." Kululu reminded. "Don't worry. Because of your lack of patient confidentiality you told me how much is due, and as a super genius I have calculated and remembered it!"

Sai breathed a sigh of relief. It sure helped to have a super genius boyfriend. "I'll send her bills off immediately! Thank you for reminding me. If I had forgotten...I could have been fired."

"Speaking of being fired...I had a few ideas to benefit a few of the other patients lives..." Kululu smiled. "Before we leave, you know."

Sai's eyes glittered. She always liked things that benefited other patients lives! "What ideas?"

"I noticed that in Tamama's file," Sai frowned that Kululu had been reading over other patient's files again. "It said he had dietary restrictions against sugar." It was a lie of course. He had managed to hack his way in and edit the line. Tamama loved sugar more than anything from what he had heard. "I thought it would be a good idea to restrict his diet and give him more nutritious food?"

Sai jumped up and down. "Good plan! If he wasn't so filled with sugar, perhaps he'd be less angry!"

"I thought you could maybe..." Kululu bit his lip. He hated to do this to Mois since she had been so kind to him and helpful, but he had to throw her under the bus if he wanted Tamama to have a reason to escape. "Put him and Mois in some sort of group therapy session to bond as well. They fight way to often, from what Mois told me. Wouldn't they just be the greatest friends if they put their differences aside?"

Sai nodded enthusiastically. "They could fall in love. I could play match maker!"

Kululu tried not to laugh. He coughed to conceal his laughter and how wrong that was. He was on the fourth floor for goodness sake and even he knew Tamama was gay! And he had never met the guy, only heard about him. That was how obvious Tamama was.

"Any other ideas about how to better the patients lives?" Sai asked.

Kululu's eyes sparkled in mischief for a moment. "Yes, actually. It's about Giroro. I noticed that in his files..."

Sai frowned.

"His mother hasn't been noted of his institutionalization at this facility. If you called her up I'm sure she would come over and visit her baby boy. Maybe they could forgive each other and have many heart felt tears..." Kululu loved messing with his favorite guinea pig. And this was by far the most evil and honestly terrible thing he had done to Giroro.

Advise Sai to get his mother involved in his treatment. Allow Giroro's mother to see him.

Sai smiled. "Got it! I think that's a lovely idea!" She smiled.

Kululu grinned. _Three down. Three more to go. _

Now he just needed to give that Momoka girl, Koyuki, and Dororo a motive.

* * *

It was pretty easy to think of a motive for each of the three. And Kululu didn't even need to use Sai for one of them.

He easily hacked some of the staff members e-mails. Usually he only did this to prank email others, or download viruses on their computers. It was petty, but not useful in the least bit.

This time he wrote up emails to every major news site. _"Breaking news. The Hinata House's failures to contain dangerous mental patients like Yanda, can be linked back to the Nishizawa Empire. It is shown that the Nishizawa's are giving more money than necessary to the institution. Effectively they own it and their daughter is given special privilege over the other patients. Will you stand for this injustice?"_

Kululu smiled to himself. He had to stir up anger against Momoka, against the Nishizawas. She'd feel like her involvement with the Hinata House was hurting her company and would feel the need to leave.

After finishing up his role in ruining Momoka's life, he turned his attention to Koyuki. It was easy enough to convince Sai and drop a few hints that her supervisors had Koyuki in the facility to dig up information about her gang. Effectively to fish the information out of her through interrogations.

Sai was a big talk-a-lot, so she of course told her co-workers. And since they never really talked to the head of the Hinata House who usually worked up in the fourth floor, they all believed her.

They didn't want to get up there after all.

So now all the staff members believed that they were interrogating Koyuki for information.

Koyuki was a smart girl, so it was easy for her to overhear and eavesdrop on their plans to ruin her gang. She was no doubt probably horrified.

Kululu knew the last motive would be far the hardest- Dororo would be useful to him because of his ability to not be noticed, and because of his easily exploitable violence when his drugs were taken away. Kululu had heard that was something drug patients did often.

"I know, baby, it's hard..." Kululu tried to coo and sooth Sai into it. "But I really need you to do this. This will be the only way they inspect Dororo's room and find all of his drug stashes."

Sai shook her head. She didn't want to do it. This was even more illegal than having a forbidden romance with a patient- hiding a weapon in a patient's room. It could permanently ruin Dororo's chances of healing, his danger level would go up and it would traumatize him. "I can't..." She tried to say.

"Please. For me. For our future children." Kululu's eyes were large and trusting.

And although the plan didn't make much sense to her, Sai knew Kululu was smarter than her. So she agreed to hide a single knife in his room and discover it.

* * *

Dororo knew he was scape goating. How could he not know? He knew Keroro hadn't really ruined his life, deep down.

He had ruined his life. That's what the doctors kept telling him after all. And he was honestly trying to get better now that Koyuki was in his life.

_Where did everything go wrong? _Dororo tried to remember. He didn't really like looking at the past. It was a lot sadder than looking at the future, the future where he might be discharged with his beautiful lady Koyuki.

Had it been the day that he had met Keroro at school? Had that been where his life had gone wrong?

"_I'm Keroro. It's nice to meet you, Dororo. Do you want to be friends?" _Keroro had asked him kindly. It was a shining beacon of hope to the unsociable Dororo.

Before that he had always been sickly, his immune system had been weak. Although he was born to a life of privileges and riches he had never really had friends or social interaction having to spend most of his young life in the hospital. So Keroro just offering himself up as his friend had been something Dororo had cherished.

Dororo would have done anything to keep that friendship. Even if it was doing whatever Keroro ordered or dared, some things had even resulted in him breaking his arm or serious injuries. Even if it was giving up any of his toys he would have done it- just to keep Keroro in his life as his friend.

It wasn't until much later, when Keroro had asked something of him that he hadn't been comfortable with, did he realize how wrong his relationship was. Keroro had asked him if he wanted to start dating him, they had both been rather young, fumble adolescents and Keroro must have misread all of Dororo's affection for love.

All Dororo wanted was friendship though, but he had agreed as always. It had been only three months before all of the exploitation and being taken advantage of and unhappiness got to him- and he cracked. He had finally burst out with how unhappy he was, how anything was better than this and claiming that Keroro had ruined his life- despite the fact that he had never once said no to Keroro or given Keroro the impression that he was unhappy before.

It had been a terrible break up. They hadn't even been able to get back to friends, Dororo easily cut himself off of Keroro and Keroro's other childhood friend Giroro, not wanting to be taken advantage of again. But after just a day he regretted it and began to think that Keroro had forgotten him and that was why he wasn't begging his forgiveness.

His cycle of co-dependence began anew. He desperately needed the validation that Keroro gave him, but Keroro was nowhere to be seen. Keroro didn't want to hurt him after all and felt incredible guilty for all he had done, so he never came back. Dororo looked for him and looked for him, but he could not find him.

He decided he had been abandoned. And as he cried outside the apartment that Keroro had previously lived in, cursing his name, that was when he met him.

"You look pretty sad. Do you want some drugs, kid?" The man wasn't much older than he was, despite his grey hair and rather red eyes. "They'll fix you right up."

Dororo at first refused. But slowly he started to wonder what would happen if he accepted the man's offer, just once. Maybe he could be independent, not need someone else. Maybe he wouldn't care if he wasn't forgotten. Maybe he wouldn't be so depressed. And most of all, maybe he wouldn't feel so sick and ill all the time. "Okay, maybe just one." He agreed.

"I'll need some cash. Kid, what's your name?" The man asked.

Dororo nibbled on his lip below his face mask. He didn't want to get in trouble with the law because he had tried something illegal, so he gave a fake name. "Zeroro." He handed the man the money.

The man smiled and gave Dororo his first pack of drugs.

It had been downhill from there.

As time went on, Dororo spent more and more time with his drug dealer, the man's name was Zoruru. Dororo looked and sounded even more addicted than him. Zoruru made sure that he didn't actually use drugs often, it was just a way for him to make a profit so he could live.

It wasn't long before the two bonded and Dororo found himself seeking validation and love from yet another person- despite being drugged out. The two started a relationship that at first felt a lot better than what he and Keroro shared, like the two of them were actually connecting, but after a few days Dororo realized he loved the drugs Zoruru gave him a lot more than Zoruru.

Their relationship actually lasted a decent amount of time. Dororo stayed because he was so drugged up and knew he could get cheaper deals. But one day Zoruru realized there were a few problems.

"Gimme it." Dororo begged.

"No. I think you're a bit too addicted." Zoruru frowned. "You barely talk to me. You barely communicate with me besides being in a drugged up stupor. It's like you don't even like me. I think maybe getting you addicted wasn't the best idea. How about we try to give you a break? I think you need to go cold turkey."

That had been Zoruru's mistake- the suggestion of quitting. Dororo didn't know he was capable of violence, but something snapped in him. He couldn't have his darling, drugs, taken away.

He didn't remember much about that night- just the blood. He had beat Zoruru and attacked him so much, desperate for the drugs. He was taken to the Hinata House shortly after that, deemed dangerous and that he needed to detox.

He wished he could have said that he never saw Zoruru again, but thankfully Zoruru survived. He had prosthetic limbs, metal on his face, and was pretty much half a cyborg but he survived. He had only visited Dororo once to swear his revenge and tell him how much he hated him and how he was going to kill him one day.

He was dragged off after that. It was actually pretty frightening.

_I'm a monster. _Dororo remembered. _I ruined my life. _It hadn't been Keroro. It had never been Keroro. It was always him and his bad decisions.

Keroro had just stolen times. Dororo? He had beaten a person to near death causing them to become a cyborg. It was easy to know who was worse.

Sometimes Dororo knew he was never going to get better and out, no matter how much he wanted to heal. He had tried giving up drugs for Lady Koyuki, the only person that he felt the need to motivate himself for- he wished that they were on the outside world, perhaps he might be able to pursue his first healthy relationship if they were. But even that hadn't worked, he was still addicted to drugs thanks to some of the horrible therapists leading him back to addiction.

And he knew if they were ever taken away he would snap.

He went to his room to find his hidden drug supply. Therapists tackled him from all over to his surprise.

"This was found under your bed." They accused, showing him a shiny knife.

Dororo's eyes glinted in fear. _W-what...? But I'm not dangerous right now! I have my drugs! I won't hurt anyone. _

"You've been deemed dangerous with or without drugs. All drugs will be confiscated from here on out, even medical pills to reduce the risks of addiction." The doctors told him.

"But I need those!" Dororo cried, "I will literally die without my medicine!" He didn't want to take off his mask to scream louder but he was tempted. He had an illness and it needed to be treated.

"Should have thought of that before you smuggled a knife in." The doctor hissed, "I'm sorry, it's just safer for everybody. You'll be fine. We won't fall for your 'need your medicine or else you'll die,' ploy." The doctors laughed.

Fear went through Dororo's heart. He would die if he remained here. That was the last straw. _Wait...If I don't have my drugs...I'll get violent. _Dororo knew he hadn't brought the knife. But he didn't think his room mate, Tamama, would frame him. Had he just forgotten?

He didn't want to be violent when he was off of drugs. What if he hurt someone? Would he lash out at Keroro? Giroro? _Koyuki? _He thought to himself. _Oh no...What if I hurt Koyuki the way I did Zoruru...? _She was more important to him than Zoruru had been. She always was. But he didn't know what he'd be like.

He was scared. He needed to get his drugs.

_Was Fuyuki offering something the other day...Either way, I need to get out of here. _Dororo realized.

* * *

It wasn't just Dororo who was being pushed into making a decision. Koyuki too, even though she had always been supportive of escaping.

"Did you hear about the Azumaya girl?" A doctor said.

Koyuki pressed her ear onto the floor. She was very good at listening and eavesdropping- spying.

"She hasn't yet given up any information on her gang- their location or anything. Perhaps we should interrogate her further under the guise of friendship." Someone giggled.

_So that's why I'm here! _Koyuki realized. It all made sense now. She wasn't here to be reintegrated into society. She was here because they wanted to use her to gain information on her notorious and quite feared gang.

She couldn't let that happen. She was a black forest ninja for life. She would rather die than betray her people. _I have to get out of here. I have to warn my clan. _She decided.

* * *

Tamama just wept as he looked at his plate of vegetables. "Where's the cake?"

"I made you a kale loaf." The chef smiled. "It's more nutritious."

"AHHH! This is a nightmare!" Tamama cried. "Kale loafs are worse than that woman!" Who the heck ate kale loafs as cake?

"Speaking of Mois..." Sai tip-toed behind him. "You two will be having a special group therapy session from now on to bond. I'm going to make you two best friends!"

Angol Mois and Tamama looked up, and then looked at each other in horror. Not only were they going to be trapped in a room together, but with Sai as their therapist?

"At least tomorrow the day will be better...The menu..." Tamama sighed, sitting down. He was trying not to scream, not to break, not to cry.

"Actually, you'll be having healthy meals with no sugar for the rest of your life!" Sai told him, "You've been discovered to have some pretty severe dietary restrictions."

"You could say, no sugar for you?" Mois realized.

Tamama punched her in the face.

Sai gasped. "No doing that!"

Mois moaned in pain.

Tamama just collapsed on the floor. "That's it. This place is officially a nightmare and the worst. I can't live in a world without sugar." He knew he didn't have dietary restrictions.

_I have to get out of here. _He cried and cried on the floor in a pile.

"Oh dear...Has he started cycling to his more depressed state?" Sai frowned. She swept him away from the cafeteria with a broom.

Yet again another of Kululu's plots had worked. Now Tamama wanted to leave too.

* * *

Momoka knew of what was happening on the outside with the Nishizawa empire. And she was concerned. Why was her family getting yelled at for the fall of Yanda?

And now it had been leaked that she beat Yanda up. Her mother had been proud and been like 'that's my girl' but her father had been under a lot of scrutiny from the press.

_More pressure...Why am I always failing at everything? _Momoka asked. It was all her fault. She wished she just didn't exist.

It was so much easier to be like her other ideal self- tough and not caring about the pressure of society. But then her shy, nicer self always had to pick up the pieces that the darker Momoka left behind. She had to clean up after her. And that just made things all the harder.

She didn't want to be here. It was frightening how she even messed up in the Hinata House. _I'm Momoka Nishizawa. I should be able to make my own choices. If this place isn't helping, I should leave. _She knew she wasn't allowed to. It was illegal for her to leave.

However she didn't want her parents to be wrapped up in the Hinata House too much. They had given a lot of money to the place but they didn't know anything that was going on there. They were donators and paid for Momoka's care – not stock holders. There was a differences.

She didn't want to bring this hardship on her parents. She had to leave.

Fuyuki's suggestion or escape, his scheming suggestion, floated around in her head yet again.

Perhaps his idea had some merit.

* * *

Giroro was hit by far the hardest. He didn't want to leave at all. He believed that he really could get better.

"I have good news for you!" Jared, who always delivered bad news seemed to say. He was a therapist at the Hinata House.

Giroro groaned. "Get out with it then." Who died? _Hope it's good old mom. I'd be able to leave for a few days for a funeral and then she'd be out of my life for good._

"Your Mom's going to visit you in two days! She called up after a nice therapist named Sai was alerted that she didn't know that you were staying at the Hinata House and told her immediately. She's going to visit you and take a more active role in your healing process."

Giroro grabbed the edge of a chair, his knuckles turning white as he tried not to fall down. He had to keep his mind active instead of blacking out. He was getting dizzy.

"T-that...That can't be possible..." He had given specific instructions not to alert his mother of his location. She had been trying to track him down ever since he had left the country for Japan. It haunted his nightmares.

_Garuru...Garuru will help..._Giroro tried to tell himself. _No. She'll love seeing Garuru. Garuru will love seeing her. She always did think he was the better one. They probably haven't seen each other in years. _Could Garuru have leaked the information after deciding that he wanted Giroro to have more family members? He was a traitor after all that was only there for Pururu. He had to be only there for Pururu.

Garuru didn't really love him, did he?

_Garuru must have put her phone number in my records...Garuru was the only one besides me to have that information. _Giroro had forgotten that in one of his blind rages he had told Kululu and yelled about it in one of their group therapy sessions. After all he didn't even think Kululu, the man on the fourth floor, had anything to do with his problems anymore.

"Isn't that great news?" Jared clapped.

"Leave..." Giroro hissed. Jared looked frightened of Giroro's glare, but he left.

Giroro collapsed into a chair. He put his face in his hands and tried not to cry. He was a soldier. He couldn't cry.

But he did. He couldn't stop his body from shaking. _No. I can't be here in two days. But it'll be impossible to leave in that time. There's nobody who can help me._

His mind drifted to Natsumi. Maybe she'd be willing to do something? But moral support was all she could give and she probably wouldn't even give him that. She was still mad at him that Fuyuki had been hurt.

He had wanted to stay in the Hinata house for Natsumi. So they might have a life together someday, so he could be healthy enough to be there for her. But that didn't seem reasonable now if his mother was coming back into his life.

He couldn't be here. _I'm sorry Natsumi. It's...It's you or her. _He didn't know if his love for Natsumi was strong enough to face his fears.

He needed to leave. Either by being sent up permanently to the healing room so he couldn't be met with, by having an incredibly violent outburst, figuring out a way to kill himself, or escaping.

The latter was by far the most preferred. But he didn't know how to escape.

* * *

They all met at breakfast the next day, their motives about leaving, floating in their head. Everybody had a motive except Keroro who was just eating happily and unaware about his friend's gloomy moods.

"Fuyuki, the other day you asked if we had ever...Thought about escaping..." Dororo started the conversation. "I think I've revised my statement on that answer."

Fuyuki looked up. "Really?" He was shocked. What had happened.

"Me too." Tamama agreed. Momoka nodded as there was chatter among their table. Everybody wanted to escape.

"I...I think we should escape." Giroro told him. It was Saturday, Natsumi would be coming that day. It would be the last day he'd see her.

It was rare for Momoka to be there on a Saturday, but apparently she hadn't taken the weekend off. She looked like she wanted to talk about this possible escape.

"Tomorrow." Giroro was thinking farther than anybody else had, he gave them a set deadline.

Everybody looked shocked by his proposition. They didn't look displeased though.

"Why tomorrow? Won't we need more time to plan?" Koyuki asked.

"It's just better to do this while motivated." Giroro shrugged, not getting into any detail. "Don't stop me. If you don't want to come with me and plan this I'll just leave with Fuyuki."

"And me." Koyuki offered.

"Me too. I need to get out of here so I can get some medication." Dororo agreed.

"Drugs." Keroro coughed.

Fuyuki smiled. "I'm coming with you definitely!"

"Me too." Momoka smiled, "I'll come with Fuyuki."

"...Even I have deep reasons for needing to leave. Deep and scary reasons." Tamama said mysteriously. He really just wanted sweets.

"I want to come!" Keroro's hand shot up. He hadn't even been manipulated. He just followed the crowd.

Angol Mois nodded. "Tomorrow it is then?" She hadn't talked much but she pulled out something. "I found this in Koyuki's room."

"Hey!" Koyuki frowned.

"We share a room, it's not so bad..." Mois pointed it out. "It's a map of the facility. So we can plan better."

Everyone peered over it.

Angol Mois pointed to something at the front. "These are some very big iron gates. They're heavily monitored by security cameras and have a very high tech technology that requires probably a lot of hacking to bypass."

Koyuki nodded. "I remember seeing those...Crap, we really didn't think this through. How are we going to get past them!"

_Ah. I know how! _Fuyuki smiled. _Mois said she was good at hacking things. That's why she's bringing this up._

"I don't know." Mois pouted and sighed, like the liar she was. "You could say, none of us is any good with technology? What a travesty!"

Fuyuki frowned. Why was she lying?

"However..." She trailed off. "There's one person in this facility who I am confident has the ability to get past these gates. If we want to leave we'll have to use him."

Keroro gulped. He wasn't very good with the term 'using people' although he used Mois frequently to do his emotional well being paperwork, he was trying to use people less.

"Who?" Dororo asked. "And how will we convince them to help?"

Mois smiled. "Have you heard the rumors about the person on the fourth floor...?"

Everybody except Fuyuki paled. "Mois, ummm...You weren't here when we were talking about how awful he is. Giroro was telling us all about him, but we have!" Keroro told her.

"I've heard rumors that he's a super genius. So much so that the other countries are desperately trying to steal him away from this facility and make him into their tool." Mois crossed her arms. She didn't look like herself, a bit more confident in the words she was using.

Giroro nodded. "She's right about all that. But what are you suggesting? Break him out so he can hack the gate for us? He wouldn't do anything we say!"

"He probably wants to escape too." Mois pointed out.

"But we'd be aiding a criminal. Not a friend like the rest of us." Giroro cried.

"It's the only way out. Take it or leave it." Mois smiled.

_Ah. I get why she didn't say she could do it! _Fuyuki realized. _It's so we have a reason to bring Kululu along. Great job, Mois! I almost forgot to convince them._

"I'll take it. I met him once, and he was scary...But not that bad. I think he's survivable." Fuyuki lied.

Giroro shook his head, but finally gulped. Kululu was still better than his mother any day. "Fine. I remember what he's like and could probably try...try to convince him." He was shaking.

Everybody gave a small nod. This would have to do.

They needed to start planning how to break Kululu out and get past the rest of the guards.

_It would sure help if we had someone on the outside waiting to help us. _Giroro realized.

* * *

It was visiting hours and Natsumi was still shaken up over the bills that she needed to pay. _I'll never see Fuyuki again. Today and tomorrow are our last days. _She remembered.

She passed other visitors, a friend of the guy named Tamama, some dude named Taruru from his orphanage, and others.

Eventually she sat next to Fuyuki. She let him chatter endlessly about aliens and she smiled. Instead of denying them she nodded.

"Those stupid frogs really are funny, aren't they?" She tried to swallow her tears. She'd let him believe that she believed in aliens for one day. It was better than giving him a life of hardships. "I'm sorry...I need to use the restroom."

She ran off to wipe off her tears. Fuyuki watched her go but didn't stop her.

Once Natsumi came out of the restroom, Giroro was waiting for her.

"What do you want?" She snarled.

"I..." He didn't want to lie to her about what was going on with her brother. Even if it might risk their escape, he wanted to tell her about their plan. "All of group A is planning on escaping tomorrow." He confided in her.

He had to trust her. Trust was a two-way street. She had trusted him with Fuyuki and he had betrayed that trust but he needed to learn to trust her with more than just his heart. To have a more real and achievable relationship with her.

Natsumi looked shocked. "Why are you telling me this?" She asked in a whisper. Obviously this might hurt her brother's chances and Giroro's chances for escape. "Why do you want to leave? I thought you said you wanted to get better and liked being around your older brother." She recalled a few of her and Giroro's conversations.

"I did, but complications arose. My...M-mother is coming for a visit..." Giroro tried not to stutter.

"And that's a bad thing?" Natsumi asked confused.

"I would rather die than see my mother. But I don't want your brother to be hurt in the process of me trying to escape that woman. That's why I'm trusting you and letting you make the decision if you want to pull Fuyuki out of this plan. If you think it's a good idea." Giroro told her.

Natsumi looked shocked. He was confiding in her so much and putting a lot of pressure on her. She wasn't really allowed to touch him, but nobody was watching and her hand drifted to his arm to give him a squeeze of support. She gave him a small smile as if she realized how tough this was on him.

"I..." _If Fuyuki escapes I'll be able to see him. _The law didn't matter to her. Her brother did. She had to keep their family together. "Take Fuyuki with you. And meet up with me on the outside. I'll run with you." She offered

Giroro smiled. He loved Natsumi so much. "Okay." Maybe they did have a chance at happiness together.

"Tell them I'm in on the plan. I'm coming with. And Giroro...?" Natsumi smiled for the first time that day.

Giroro glanced at her.

"I forgive you. You tried your best to protect Fuyuki. And you need to protect yourself too." Natsumi decided, "I know that you'll try your hardest to protect him."

Giroro melted. He was so happy that she forgave him. "I will. Your brother is safe with me."

Natsumi smiled. She was glad to have Giroro as a friend.

* * *

Giroro sat down later with the group. "We leave tomorrow. Natsumi, Fuyuki's sister is coming with us."

Everybody was shocked but they didn't have complaints.

It all worked out for them. And they knew that tomorrow...Tomorrow would be the day that they would be finally out of the Hinata House.

They all had reasons to escape. And their hearts were filled with desire. They didn't know they were just puppets on a string following what Kululu wanted.

They were ignorant.

* * *

**Originally Kululu was going to manipulate Fuyuki a bit more to want to leave with a deadline too. Maybe he'll do that next chapter but I just didn't have time for it this chapter. That and he wanted to leave enough already.**

**Giroro and Natsumi are chill and happy with each other again. All is right in the world.**

**Please review.**


	24. Escape

**The last chapter that takes place inside the Hinata House. God there's way too many characters in this fic on screen at once. The pain and suffering.**

* * *

It was the middle of the night, but Fuyuki was not asleep. He had gone and seen Kululu before going to bed and had communicated to him that everything was going according to plan- that they'd get the platoon free from the men in white's control.

"That's good." Kululu had told him, "Because the men in white haven't been getting the results they wanted. They were going to turn to experimenting on other things...Humans." Kululu grinned wildly, just to drive the final nail into Fuyuki's mind ensuring that tomorrow would be the day they left.

"Pokoponians." Fuyuki corrected, "What do you mean?"

"I overheard that your sister would be the prime test subject." _Ah, sibling love is such a beautiful thing to exploit. _Kululu thought to himself.

"Natsumi? But...But they have no reason to bring her here..." Fuyuki looked fearful.

"Her anger and violence is one of the reasons they love to institutionalize people. Face the facts, kid. They could make your sister easily end up here." Kululu had told him.

And with that line, Fuyuki's mind had easily turned to fear.

He was packing what little he could carry as he and the sarge tried to not look suspicious in the dead of night. He was glad that Keroro had agreed to go with him, he had barely even convinced the guy.

Keroro was looking at a gundam model with a forlorn glance. He really didn't want to leave his toys, but it was hard to pack them up. "So go over the plan once more." Keroro told him.

"Four AM will be when we leave." Fuyuki told him, "Because that's when the staff are most tired and populating the break rooms for coffee instead of watching us. Me and Giroro will head up to floor four to break out Kululu and try to sneak him downstairs."

Keroro nodded. "Okay..."

"Dororo and Koyuki, since they're stealthier than the rest of us are going to look around the floor and try to memorize the staff's patterns. They'll harmlessly knock out whoever we can't get past and tie them up in a closet or something." Fuyuki continued.

"What about Momoka, me, Tamama and Mois?" Keroro asked.

"Momoka's waiting on the outside with supplies. She has to escape her house on her own since she goes back for night times. She has a lot of guards but she promised she could do it and shake them off. We are by no means allowed to bring any technology or gps tracking equipment with us." Fuyuki explained.

Angol Mois had suggested that one, although she was especially unhappy about it too.

"There's a department store that Momoka owns that's having some sort of job fair festival? We're all going to meet up there and try to blend in. Sis is going to be at there and then we'll all disappear into the crowd. If the police are going after us the plan is to say that we've taken Momoka hostage and for them to back off or else we...We kill her." Fuyuki gulped.

Keroro still was waiting for where he fit in.

"Angol Mois is going to meet up with a therapist who I've heard offered to help us. The therapist has several key cards that will help us past the doors before the iron gates. Tamama's going to go up to the watch tower and...I'm not sure what he was planning to do to the night guard but he was cracking his knuckles." Fuyuki told Keroro.

Keroro nodded. "So what do I do? What is my purpose? How do I fit in with this plan?"

"Uhhhh..." Fuyuki frowned. Keroro didn't really have a purpose or anything useful about him. "You can go with Mois to talk to our ally on the inside. I hope it's Garuru!"

Keroro nodded. He hoped so too. "And we only pack the essentials?"

"Yep." Fuyuki nodded. "Natsumi said she had train tickets for us so we can go across the country."

"Even...Even that creep on the fourth floor?" Keroro gulped.

"Yeah. I told her the number of people." Fuyuki was glad she had used the last amount of her savings on this. He had to save the platoon and her.

It was an all or nothing bid.

* * *

The time to strike rolled around. There was no time for bittersweet good-byes. They knew if they were caught that they might be separated from their friends in group A. And some of them knew that their lives would get all the more miserable if they were caught.

"Don't get all lovey dovey with Mr. Keroro while I'm gone." Tamama hissed still able to get a word in edge-wise. "Your job is by far the most cushy, woman." Tamama was mad that Angol Mois and Keroro were doing the least work.

"Hey! I'm also the one who's arranging all our beds to look like we're still there." Filling the beds with pillows like every one was sleeping was something Mois was very good at. She grumbled a bit but headed off with Keroro.

"Me and Lady Koyuki will try our best." Dororo promised.

"I'm going to smash some faces!" Tamama said enthusiastically.

Giroro and Fuyuki were left alone. "Don't worry...If you're scared, I'll protect you. That creep would scare anyone."

"I'm not-" Fuyuki tried to reassure.

"You can hold my hand if you want." Giroro offered. He wanted to be brotherly to Fuyuki. Specifically brother-in-law-y.

Fuyuki smiled and took Giroro's gesture. And the two of them headed up to floor four.

Fuyuki now had an elevator key, luckily. Sai had given him one. He had always found it a bit odd that suddenly he was allowed to see Kululu under some sort of therapy called 'tea time'. He didn't know what that meant. But he wasn't complaining.

They were quiet on the trip up. "There's a lot of security cameras." He finally pointed as they approached the room with the danger signs. "How are we getting past those?"

They hadn't thought this through- how to break Kululu out. Fuyuki had merely suggested that they rip the wires straight out of the wall and only Giroro was strong enough to do that.

"Hmmm..." Fuyuki thought for a moment. But as he looked into the black orbs he noticed that they looked disengaged. "It must be that staff member that's helping us! They're already disengaged!"

The locks to Kululu's room were free too. As Fuyuki pushed open the door, Kululu stood there waiting for them.

Giroro tensed up as he saw the monstrosity. Kululu stood still in his mask and straight jacket, binds around every corner of his body.

"Heya...Kululu..." Giroro tried to be casual. He didn't think Kululu deserved a casual greeting though. The guy was a monster. "Ummm...You must remember me..."

Fuyuki unhooked the mask.

"I can't say that I do." Kululu said just to be a jerk.

Giroro growled. "But I have a proposition for you." He continued. He didn't know Kululu was already in on the escape plan. "I'm-I'll break you out of here, if you hack the main gate of the Hinata House so that my group can escape. Of course I'm not a monster, after we're out I'll keep a tight leash on you so you don't kill any one, but it must be better than being a prisoner here."

Giroro gave his offer.

Kululu looked at Giroro for a moment. _Ah, so that's how Mois must have convinced them to take me. Saying only I can open that giant gate even though there are several methods. Heck, beating up a guard until they told you the pass word could have worked. _She really did like him. He tried not to smile.

It was his big moment. His moment of freedom. "Ku, ku, ku. You'd break out a monster just to have a chance on the outside world? I bet there's something rather important to you waiting there...Hmmm, maybe I can guess..." Kululu inspected Giroro's face, knowing Giroro was leaving because of his mother and not any reason. "Is it a girl? Boy?" He teased.

"W-what...No...It's got nothing to do with a crush!" Giroro blushed.

Kululu was stunned for a moment. Man, Giroro gave up secrets about himself way too easily. He didn't even think Giroro had someone on the outside. "Ku, ku, ku. Interesting, you have some poor crush on the outside world. Pathetic. They must be just the worst if you two are together."

"Natsumi isn't like that! I mean...Heh, he said we were together..." Giroro's head was sort of in the clouds. Fuyuki shook him out of his stupor.

_He has a crush on Fuyuki's sister? Weird. But useful. This will prove quite useful when I'm on the outside. _Giroro felt obligated to not let him do terrible things after all. He'd make sure he was terrible anyway.

"I accept your offer." Kululu told him. "I know this facility like quantum mechanics. It's pretty easy to understand. Ku, ku, ku. Now, what's your plan for breaking me out."

Giroro nudged Fuyuki backwards so he could help Kululu out of his straight jacket. He made sure Fuyuki was away just in case Kululu lashed out and hurt anyone.

He wouldn't put it past him. Garuru had told him he was known to do that. Unhooking the chains and latches, Giroro tried to be quick about the legs and the rest of his body.

"W-what about the headphones? Did you think about those?" Kululu asked.

"The wires?" Giroro was confused.

"They're connected to my brain. You'll have to disconnect them from the wall carefully as to not damage me-" Kululu regretted it the moment he said it.

Giroro unhooked one wire from the wall by just pulling. Kululu screamed loudly in anguish and pain- it was the loudest Fuyuki had ever heard him.

"We'll be found out if you do it that way!" Fuyuki yelled.

"But doing it any other way is a time waster. I don't care about his comfort!" Giroro argued.

Kululu tried not to whimper. His now free hand shot up to his head to cradle it, his bandages soaking with blood.

"T-the walls are sound proof so they don't have to hear my laughter..." Kululu said quickly. "But I won't be much help to you if you just yank them out of the wall. There's over fifty of them and I'd pass out after at least ten..."

Giroro sighed. "Who's the weenie now?" He hissed. "I thought you enjoyed pain."

_Other people's! _Kululu wanted to say.

"What do we do?" Fuyuki wondered. They were quite wrapped in there.

"No choice. This might hurt my hand quite a bit, but it'll be the quickest way..." Giroro sighed. He punched the wall.

"You aren't seriously thinking you can punch through the wall to crumble it, are you? Ku, ku, ku." Kululu laughed. Even Giroro wasn't that strong. And he probably didn't have that high a pain tolerance- his knuckles would be bruised and bloody.

Giroro continued punching and the wall started crumbled. Kululu was shocked. But his wires were all over the room, tangled everywhere.

Giroro didn't even make a sound of discomfort, even if he was bleeding. He just kept punching and punching. And eventually the only remaining wires were in the ceiling.

"I...I can't reach those, we'll have to yank them..." Giroro breathed heavily.

"The rubble could hit us though." Fuyuki pointed out.

Kululu's wires were moving on their own, untangling and slinking in his bandages. "Have anything to cut them? I think they added quite a bit more than needed. They'll just trail after me if I have that long of them."

It might hurt but it was better than yanking.

Giroro shook his head. They weren't allowed weapons.

Fuyuki pointed to Giroro's sharp pointy teeth.

"You have to be kidding me." Giroro sighed. "I am not putting my mouth on that creep's wires!"

They looked at him.

He sighed and did it anyway. Both Giroro and Kululu were in very much pain from the electrocution.

Eventually Kululu was finally free and he collapsed on the ground.

"No being lazy." Giroro ordered.

"I can't help it. I've never been able to do anything but stand for a while now..." Kululu breathed. "We have to go though, you're right..." He tried to wobble over to some control pads in his room, to hack in some fake footage of being in there for months.

"Can you let him lean on you?" Fuyuki asked. "He looks pathetic."

"No." Giroro scrunched up his nose in disgust. Kululu would just have to learn how to walk like a normal person.

* * *

Angol Mois and Keroro looked around waiting for the staff member to rendezvous with them. Eventually the person they least expected walked over- Sai.

"Hello! I'm glad we have another chance to be friends." Sai smiled. "I'm so glad that we'll be together for a long time."

Angol Mois and Keroro looked shocked.

"You?" Keroro asked flabbergasted. "You're helping us? Why?"

"Because I'm a nice person." Sai giggled, patting both their heads despite how little they wanted to be touched. "Anyway, here's some key cards. Follow my lead and we'll meet with your friends."

"How can we trust you?" Angol Mois asked, "You're the worst therapist around."

"Because, missy, I don't steal other people's boyfriends, unlike you. I'm totally trustable." Sai frowned.

Angol Mois honestly didn't know what she was talking about.

"Boy. I guess Sai's been listening to Tamama." Keroro sighed. "Don't worry, Mois. I know you really aren't a boyfriend stealer, I mean, who would you even steal?" Keroro laughed.

Mois sighed. Keroro was so dense.

* * *

They all met in front of the big security gate. Fuyuki took a double-take as he looked at Sai.

"Sai? What are you doing here?" Fuyuki asked.

"I'm leaving with you. I'm helping you." Sai giggled. "Don't worry. You can trust me. I'm your friend."

Fuyuki tried to be happy about this choice. But he didn't remember much about Sai from his adventures. She was just a man in white.

"Nobody's around. We tied them up." Koyuki smiled. "And I managed to cut a hole in the chain link fence with my teeth, as you've seen and probably crawled through."

People winced.

"I see you also had to cut something with your teeth today." Giroro sighed.

Tamama grinned. He had a bit of blood on his knuckles. "No guards in the light towers will be bothering us either."

Keroro looked horrified.

"They aren't dead." Tamama reassured. "The ones I couldn't beat up, I told horrifying stories about kale cake too and they collapsed. Then I farted."

Everybody made a disgusted face.

"You're up then. You better be useful." Giroro pushed Kululu forward as he wobbily walked forward. "Your one job is to open this gate."

Kululu nodded. He thought for a moment and his wires shot forward into a code pad. After a moment, it opened.

"I reprogrammed it so after we go through it'll close and the previous code won't work so all the guards who would come after us will be trapped here. Ku, ku, ku. For the time being at least. Buy us a bit of time." Kululu grinned.

"Wow! That was pretty smart!" Keroro congratulated.

Kululu narrowed his eyes. "Who the heck are you?" He hadn't ever planned on this bozo coming along.

Keroro was about to tell him all about how great he was and who he was but Giroro tugged him away.

"We have to get through!" He reminded.

Keroro nodded.

Everybody, including Sai, did not look back at the Hinata House. Instead they walked through the gates and took their last breath of freedom.

* * *

The department store was far away where they needed to meet up, but eventually Keroro needed to use the restroom.

Some people complained, like Giroro, that they had to keep moving. But Kululu did not.

"It's all right. I have something to do anyway." Kululu told him.

"It better not be something horrible." Giroro growled.

"Why don't you go think about how you're going to kiss your girlfriend or something now that there's that the no touching rule is gone?" Kululu suggested.

Giroro blushed properly distracted. "He...He called Natsumi my girlfriend..."

Fuyuki wanted to talk to Kululu, but instead Kululu took Sai's hand and tugged her away. Fuyuki was confused why he wanted to go talk to Sai of all people.

"Where is he and Sai going?" Fuyuki asked.

"You'll know when you're an adult, Fuyuki." Dororo told him.

"I still don't quite understand why Sai is even with us." Angol Mois rubbed her head. "Maybe he's telling her to get lost?"

"She'd get the authorities if he did that." Dororo reminded.

* * *

Kululu was sure that he was far enough away from the group that they couldn't hear anything now. He knew he'd return to them, he needed them to travel with after all, but he still had a loose end to tie up.

Sai smiled at him.

"I'm so glad we can finally be free to pursue our relationship. We can finally be happy together." Sai ran into his arms. "I might have did some illegal things, but it was all for love."

Kululu grinned. He really grinned. "What love?" He asked almost maliciously.

"Ours." Sai giggled, like he had forgotten. "Remember all those kisses we shared? All the times you told me you loved me?"

"How could I forget?" Kululu frowned. This was the part he had most anticipated and been waiting for during all those kisses- the climax of their relationship.

He let her hug him, embrace him. His hands drifted to her torso to keep her in place. His wires slinked out of his head and drifted around her throat.

"K-kululu...? What are you doing?" Sai asked rather nervously.

Kululu smiled at her, looking her deep in the eyes. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do! I thought we established this already!" She said fearfully.

"You shouldn't. I told you, I don't have a heart. I'm a monster. Ku, ku, ku. It was so easy to exploit you. So easy to trick you...Just like all the rest..." Kululu covered her mouth before she could scream.

Tears trickled down Sai's face. She was remembering how she had first feared Kululu, from him being a dangerous mental patient.

"_Subject Kululu is known to trick female therapists who are desperate for attention into thinking that they're in love with him, that he cares about them. He's quite a weaver of words, a seducer. This has helped many of his escape plans so he can cause chaos." _Sai remembered reading at one point in Kululu's file.

She had ignored it of course. She was different from other girls. She wasn't like them. She was special. That was what he had told her after all. They were in love.

But when she looked in Kululu's eyes, all she saw was coldness. She realized she had been just as easily tricked as the rest. What happened to the therapists that had been tricked?

She realized she was about to know.

"I never loved you. Not ever. You aren't deserving of love." And with those cold, cruel word, Kululu snapped strangled Sai with his wires.

And there was no more Sai Uru.

He turned his clothes inside out so his new group wouldn't spot any blood.

* * *

"Where's Sai?" Fuyuki asked when Kululu returned.

Kululu shrugged. "Turned out she was a mole for the men in white and wanted to learn more about us aliens."

"...Translation...?" Dororo asked worriedly.

"I didn't want to aggravate, Fuyuki. Translation is, she thought she could get an award from the Hinata House if she stopped an escape attempt. So she helped orchestrate one. All she cared about was getting praise and furthering her own career. Ku, ku, ku. Truly terrible." Kululu shrugged.

Everybody nodded. None of them really liked Sai. Fuyuki looked concerned though.

"What happened to her?" Fuyuki asked.

"I went into the gas station, stole some drugs that could subdue her for a few days and fed them to her. Don't worry, she's fine she's just taken out of commission for a bit." Kululu lied. "Ku, ku, ku. I do like to drug people without their permission after all."

Giroro gulped. He regretted bringing Kululu along. Maybe he should purchase a leash for him so he couldn't go off with party members and drug them.

He added that on his list of things to do.

Fuyuki felt some sort of nagging suspicion in his stomach that Sai wasn't fine, but everybody else seemed to believe Kululu.

"Let's go to the department store." Keroro said excitedly.

They had to meet up with Momoka and Natsumi.

* * *

**R.I.P Sai. Thank god she's gone finally.**

**Please review.**


	25. The Department Store

**Here's the next chapter.**

* * *

Nobody really questioned the disappearance of Sai besides Fuyuki. They honestly didn't care and most of them were way too thankful to just be out of the Hinata House and not be following their rules.

Their bodies seemed to be programmed against their minds to still be wary of the rules of the Hinata House, some of them would make certain effort to not be exactly 15 inches apart of members of the opposite sex at all times, some of them were a little wary and looked like they felt that they'd never shake off the Hinata House.

It was a sure fact that they were being chased after all.

Fuyuki noticed that the two who had transitioned the most easily to not being institutionalized were Keroro and Tamama. Keroro was pointing out stores and was in a rather cheery mood as if he didn't care where he was and was just kind of going along for the ride- his true motivation. Tamama on the other hand looked like he was using this whole adventure as just another excuse to be lovey dovey and close to Keroro without being separated, saying he needed to hold Keroro's hand in the street and things like that.

Keroro was happy to obliged what he believed were innocent intents.

Fuyuki glanced behind him to see Dororo, Koyuki, Angol Mois and Kululu. Dororo and Koyuki had kept to the back of the group just because they believed they were able to have a quicker reaction time than the rest if they realized they were being followed.

Koyuki looked like she was awkwardly moving her hand over to Dororo's every now and then but the invisible wall placed in Dororo's mind by the Hinata House was preventing her, as he quickened his pace.

Angol Mois and Giroro, who was up in the front of the group trying to get everyone to quicken their pace to the department store, looked like they transitioned by far the least easily into fresh clean air and what they could only know as freedom. Both of them looked very agitated, Giroro's face was tensed up from stress and his legs were shaking as he physically pushed himself to move as quick as he could and keep track of their other party members as if counting them like a mother hen. Every time he saw a flash of a street light or the sound of a loud bus passing by he physically jumped and Fuyuki had to grab the back of his shirt to prevent him from running and hiding – it was like he was reacting to them as if they were bombs!

Mois on the other hand's fingers twitched as if she desperately wanted her comfort item, her cell phone. She also seemed to be keeping the farthest away from members of the opposite sex despite not being in the Hinata House any longer. She kept scurrying up ahead to more of Keroro's side, than moving back to Kululu's again to see if he could walk properly.

"Y-you okay?" Angol Mois looked as if she wanted to offer Kululu a hand or her body to lean on, but the rules in her head of the Hinata House prevented her.

"I haven't walked this much since I was fourteen." Kululu admitted, trying to steady his breathing. "And that was nearly three years ago. Ku, ku, ku."

"Better get used to it, because if you drop and collapse I'm not carrying you. You've served your purpose so if you even start to hinder me, you're dead to us." Giroro hissed. He knew Kululu was the type to purposefully hinder people.

"Me? Hinder someone? But I'm a perfect little angel." Kululu retorted sarcastically. He was a little worried that his body would give out, but he did like making Giroro uncomfortable. And he knew that even if Giroro wanted to ditch him someplace the other group members wouldn't let him. Namely the gullible Fuyuki and Mois. Dororo looked like the hippie sort of type that wouldn't be okay with ditching someone either.

"I can carry you if you drop." Koyuki surprisingly offered. "I'm buff. And I need to work on lifting more often now that I'm free."

"He's so tall! Would you even be able to carry him?" Dororo asked.

Koyuki shrugged. "Maybe I'd have to take it in little steps? Like drag him by his arms across the ground first? I'm pretty good at that."

Kululu paled. He had to keep pushing himself so that didn't happen to him.

"Keroro! If I got too tired would you give me a piggy back ride?" Tamama asked.

Keroro looked down at him awkwardly. "Hmmmm...Depends...How much do you weigh?"

"That's a secret~!" Tamama giggled.

Keroro suspected he wasn't strong enough.

"Look! The department store." Fuyuki pointed. "Sis and Momoka should be acting non-conspicuous to meet us there." Fuyuki hoped that Momoka's escape had gone smoothly. She had been trying to escape her mansion- probably had tighter security than the Hinata House, all by herself.

They moved forward to the department store and headed in front of the sliding glass doors.

"What are these?" Mois asked pointing to the automatic sliding glass doors.

"Ah, I forgot you lost your memory after that earthquake apparently." Keroro scratched his head, "So you've never even been inside a department store. Poor thing."

"I worked at one of these a while back. I liked modifying the doors to malfunction and slam shut while someone was inside them. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu recalled his retail job with great fond memories.

Everyone was silent for a moment and rushed in as quick as they could. They were not caught in the doors.

* * *

The department store was filled with people because of the job fair happening during it. Fuyuki had always heard the saying that it was hardest to find someone in a crowd.

He tried to look for Natsumi and Momoka, figure out where they might be.

"There." Giroro managed to spot Natsumi way before Fuyuki even had the chance to. Fuyuki didn't know whether to clap at Giroro's Natsumi's detection skills or be a little worried at how huge a crush Giroro had.

"What about Momoka?" Fuyuki asked.

Giroro shrugged. He was only able to spot Natsumi.

The group slowly headed past the crowd towards Natsumi who was trying to look inconspicuous and grab some fliers.

When she saw Fuyuki heading over, she ran forward and hugged him. "Did it go okay? Are you hurt?" She asked looking over him completely concerned.

"It's fine. We're all safe." Fuyuki smiled and hugged Natsumi back. She wouldn't let him out of her arms. "Have you seen Momoka?"

"Momoka...That's that rich girl you like, right?" Natsumi had never formerly met her. Natsumi was only allowed to visit during weekends and Momoka had weekends off. But she had heard a lot about her from Fuyuki.

_Man does Fuyuki have too high of standards. _Natsumi hoped he didn't get his heart broken. Momoka was pretty much the most famous and rich girl on the planet after all. She probably had tons of suitors so why would she go for Fuyuki? Her brother was nice, but not that nice.

"L-like...Like in a friend way?" Fuyuki asked and blushed. "Y-yeah. She's a friend of mine."

"Haven't seen her." Natsumi shook her head.

Fuyuki felt a tap on his shoulder. He tried to squirm out of Natsumi's arms.

"I'm right here, Fuyuki." Momoka stuttered in a quiet voice. "It was a bit difficult to shake off my guards and get rid of everything they use to track me, but I'm here."

"Was it okay? You don't look hurt." Fuyuki was relieved.

"I'm not. They are." Momoka said simply. "I blew up three Nishizawa buildings to escape." She shrugged.

"What! That's going too far." Fuyuki was so shocked. She shouldn't have hurt herself like that for the aliens.

"No big deal. I do it all the time if I want to go somewhere without them. My guards are pretty professional though, but I'm stronger." Momoka rolled up her sleeves. "They won't rest until they've found me. But I have to do this. I have to cut myself off from the Nishizawas for my parents sake. So I don't bring down the company with my involvement in the Hinata House."

Fuyuki was so stunned.

Natsumi let Fuyuki go. "So you're Momoka? Wow! You're just as cute as Fuyuki told me you'd be. I didn't expect you to be well so..."_ Say something nice, don't mention her violence. _"Cool."

Momoka blushed a bit. "F-fuyuki said I'm cute...?"

"Ick. Okay, we've found your sister and your weird girlfriend thing, Fuyuki." Kululu pushed in between Fuyuki and Momoka to stop this sappy love fest. He had an escape to continue orchestrating. No time for romantic fluff. "Don't you think we should be leaving instead of flirting? Unless you want to be rediscovered and pay the ultimate price when they find us."

"The ultimate price...?" Giroro asked.

"A one way ticket for all of you into the Healing room. Ku, ku, ku. Although to be honest I wouldn't mind to hearing few of you scream in the healing room." Kululu shot a glance over at Tamama, Dororo, Koyuki, and his eyes lingered on Giroro much longer than the others.

"What's the problem with the healing room?" Dororo asked. "I mean from what I remember the worst thing about it was that it was on the fourth floor..."

"With you." Keroro finished and pointed out. "And we have to deal with you anyway."

"Did you not understand the purpose of the healing room or something, guys?" Giroro asked, the only one who had actually ever been in it. "It wasn't about healing. None of the staff cared if we healed. It was about keeping us nice and pleasant. It was where they tested on new human experiment stuff."

There was dead silence as everyone let that sink in and paled.

Natsumi was the only one who said anything. She didn't want to think about how Fuyuki had previously been in someplace so dangerous. "Who's this jerk?" Natsumi pointed to Kululu. "I don't remember him being in your group." He must have been a jerk if he waved it in their face the threat of what would happen if they failed. Laughing about being experimented.

Giroro turned pale. He still believed that Natsumi was frightened of mental patients and saw them as dangerous instead of seeing him as a human being and equal to her. If she knew about Kululu and how awful he was she'd probably take Fuyuki and leave, she'd be even more frightened of mental patients he'd just prove how dangerous they were. "K-kululu. His name is Kululu." Giroro stuttered out, "He's a super genius from another group that we thought would be useful for our escape. He can hack things really well and reprogram them. He'll be able to see what the Hinata House will try to do to catch us in advance and warn us. Our escape wouldn't have worked without him so we asked him to come with us."

Nobody who knew Kululu was really sure why Giroro was lying. But they didn't speak up besides Fuyuki.

"He's the sergeant Major! From the sarge's platoon, remember, sis?" Fuyuki prodded.

Natsumi sighed. "Darn stupid weird keronian sounding names. He gets this way with all your weird names."

"Ku, ku, ku." Kululu laughed. He had never met Natsumi, only heard about her from Fuyuki and Mois. But it was easy enough to read her face and how strongly she cared about her brother.

If he remembered correctly, the school schedule, she would have just been on her school break. She looked like about high school age, and she looked very easy to manipulate and wind up.

"Pleasure to meet you. Ku, ku, ku. I thought pig tails were out of style on adults, but I guess I was wrong. Are they a fad now?" Kululu asked. He couldn't resit being a jerk.

Natsumi touched her pig tails and frowned. "I'm not an adult! And my pig tails look fine. They were never out of style." She knew what he was implying. That she wasn't stylish.

"Funny, you sure look old. Thought I saw a wrinkle. Ku, ku, ku. I thought for certain you were an adult." He knew she wasn't.

Natsumi rolled up her sleeves and punched him in the side. Kululu buckled down on the floor. Natsumi had nothing against punching jerks. She wouldn't hold back her punches.

_Yep. This is going to be quite fun. I see she really is just like Giroro. _Kululu thought to himself.

"Nice job, Natsumi." Giroro congratulated.

* * *

Natsumi led them to a train that she had tickets for them all to ride. "There's a house in the country that doesn't have that big of a police force surrounding it. I've already gotten permission for you all to stay there." She whispered.

"Is it grandma's house?" Fuyuki asked.

"No..." Natsumi frowned. "But thinking about it now, that would have worked too. Too bad I sold it so we could have some extra money..." She sighed. Their grandma had left it to them after she had died.

They all sat down at the train. Natsumi tried to look around and be close to her brother, supportive of his weird friends. She didn't really know anyone that well besides Giroro, Keroro, and Koyuki.

Kululu on the other hand was making sure he knew everyone. He needed to socialize so he could use them to the best of his abilities.

"So, Tamama...It's nice to finally talk to you. I've heard a lot about you." Kululu laughed again.

"Good things?" Tamama asked hopefully. He didn't know who was telling Kululu about him on the fourth floor. They hadn't wanted to put him up there, right?

"Ku, ku, ku. Heck no. You're a big bully, aren't you? I have to admire that in a way. I mean you could be more cold and heartless than me! I can't believe you're fooling this group of losers into thinking that you value them as friends." Kululu whispered.

Tamama started sniffling and crying, very easily. Kululu's words were very hurtful and he just wasn't emotionally stable enough to deal with them.

"Hey. That was rather mean." Momoka tried to defend her friend.

"Not as mean as your face." Kululu shrugged. He knew he needed to get in good with this group, but he also wanted to be feared.

Being feared was better than being loved.

Momoka growled and tried to keep herself calm.

"Listen, I know you've been on the fourth floor a long time..." Keroro trailed off, "But you can't just treat people that way! Let's start over...Try to build a relationship from square one." Keroro offered his hand, "Name's Keroro. I also had a past in the Hinata House of being mean to people, manipulating them. Making them cry and hurting their feelings. But sometimes you can shake that off. I haven't once made Fuyuki cry or Tamama." Keroro pointed out. "Now tell me your story and tell me who you could hope to achieve to not make cry."

"You don't make either of them cry because they're your boyfriends." Kululu pointed out.

"They are not. They're too young for me." Keroro argued.

Tamama cried a little louder.

"Name's Kululu, and I've read your file mister compulsive liar. I doubt you'd ever be able to shake off manipulating people or being mean to them. It's just natural for you." Kululu shrugged.

Keroro looked shocked but worried. He really was trying to become a better person. Growing was just hard. He sunk into his seat frightened.

"He really does need to hear that. He can't just change the past." Dororo frowned.

"Didn't you turn a guy into a cyborg?" Kululu asked knowing way too personal of information.

"You did what, Dororo?" Koyuki asked surprised. Everybody's heads turned to Dororo- that was the thing they expected least from him, that he was that dangerous.

Dororo hid under his mask. Nobody could see his mouth but they saw that his eyes were frightened. "I...I might have...But I'd never hurt you, Lady Koyuki."

Koyuki for a moment didn't look like she believed him. She scooted a tiny bit away.

"Good choice. At least one of you has common sense, even if she might be so weird that even the mental patients don't consider her normal. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu crossed his arms.

"When we get to the house you're going in a permanent time out." Natsumi sighed. He was just trying to get a rise out of them.

She didn't understand why they had decided to let him come along. He was so gross, creepily laughing, sitting with his legs stretched out- truly terrible.

She didn't know it was all a ruse to make him look like he felt he was better than them, to trick them into thinking that he could afford being without them.

The train continued on it's track.

* * *

**Please review.**


	26. Heartbreak

**I finally wrote another chapter. It's more fluff filled and will be about fluff filled relationship developments for a bit...I think...**

* * *

The train ride was long, as it took the group across the country as far away from the Hinata House as possible.

Giroro noticed that a few of his comrades were falling asleep, their since of agitation fading into a new found since of freedom.

Dororo's arm was tightly wrapped around Koyuki's sleeping body as he drew her closer and she slept on his chest. Giroro didn't really know if he had gotten permission to do this, she still seemed a bit worried that he had maimed someone.

Fuyuki was nodding off over by Momoka. Keroro and Tamama were sleeping against each other, quite tuckered out.

Angol Mois wasn't even in a seat. She had somehow contorted herself in the luggage department above their heads. Every now and then her arm would drop over and Kululu would quickly shove it back into the luggage department like it was a dead body part.

Giroro didn't know if Kululu was asleep. He couldn't see through his glasses. But his arms were crossed and he looked like he was keeping focused unlike the rest of their group.

_At least someone has their priorities straight. _Giroro thought to himself.

He realized that without everyone awake he could finally have a chance to talk to Natsumi, be...Normal...He could start paving a way in her mind that he wasn't just a 'dangerous mental patient'.

He loved her so much. He just wanted a chance to have a normal life with her. For her to love him back.

He felt excitement bubble inside him realizing that was now an option. He was just like her, on the run.

"N-natsumi..." Giroro stuttered out in a quiet voice so Kululu wouldn't hear them if he was awake. "Thank you for coming with us..." His hand slowly drifted over to her hand.

He wanted to touch her, to feel her hand against his. But he was much too shy to do it. Would she be okay holding hands with him?

"No problem." She smiled, "You're saving my brother after all. From what you said of the 'healing room' that place was not a good place for him." She was still thinking of Fuyuki's sake.

"It's just so weird to think that we're on the outside now." Giroro trailed off, "I...I'm happy. I'm glad to be out here with you."

Maybe now they could have a life together. As soon as he started looking more normal so Natsumi didn't think of him as weird.

Natsumi grinned back at him. "Same." She noticed a bit of a frown from him. She picked up on it. "What is it? Something on your mind?"

"I..." _I love you... _"I'm glad I got to know you, Natsumi. Someday I hope to be a better person so you don't have to constantly worry about my anger exploding and feel like you're the only sane person in a group of mental patients."

Natsumi frowned at him. She grabbed his cheek tightly and pinched it.

"Owww-owww! Ow! What was that for?" Giroro growled and rubbed his cheek.

"I don't think you're dangerous. I've never thought people with mental illnesses were bad people or not normal. Your illnesses are either just the results of circumstances or genetics. It doesn't sound like something you should be punished for." Natsumi frowned.

"But you could be scared of me, I could pick a fight with you-" Giroro reminded. "I could have a war induced flash back and hurt someone. Isn't that the definition of dangerous?" He knew he was rambling but he didn't want Natsumi to see a false version of him. He was dangerous. "Natsumi. I've killed before."

Natsumi wasn't sure what he was talking about war, but she knew he was worried. "In different circumstances, I know I would have been sent to the Hinata House for being violent too. I'm not an idiot, I know I have a short temper and fuse. I'm just better at faking that I can function for Fuyuki's sake. So I've never seen any of you as dangerous." She reassured.

Giroro felt a little bit calmer. Did that mean he had hope with Natsumi? That she saw him as an actual person and not just a mental patient? "If...If you see me as an actual person, if you're not scared of me...Not worried I could hurt you..."

"I'm not. I know if you even try I could defend myself and if you were just being a jerk like our first meeting I'd just kick your butt." Natsumi proclaimed proudly.

"What am I to you?" Giroro asked. "What do you think of me?"

"Giroro..." Natsumi sighed, "I never knew you were the type to need reassurance that I think of you as a friend. But it's pretty cute that you're worried."

Although it wasn't the answer Giroro wanted, he could feel himself smiling. A friend. That was a start. _Natsumi thinks of me as a friend! She trusts me and thinks of me as a friend! _Romance was just the next step.

And with the way she trusted him, it wasn't that far away...He knew that they were two halves of the same whole. They were very much alike and drawn to each other. And for once he knew his feelings weren't one-sided.

There was hope that she'd feel the same draw to him as he did to her.

* * *

The train eventually reached their destination and everybody got off. Natsumi lead them to a country side house.

The roads were dirt but there was a shopping center and town 30 minutes away walking distances.

"I've already told the guy who owns this place about you, and that you've escaped from the Hinata House. You're lucky he's so easy-going about disobeying the law and happy to help Fuyuki." Natsumi smiled.

Fuyuki looked up. "I know him?" He was confused.

"Yeah! He was our upper classmen a while back. I talked about him all the time!" Natsumi frowned. "He was living in an apartment by our school at the time, but his family lives up here. They're on vacation to America so he has the house to himself for at least a year."

"Rich people." Momoka muttered.

"I don't know actually. He barely talks about his family. I've never met them. He says they're nice but I can just assume they don't exist." Natsumi shrugged. "He's super excited to help me out with something I care so deeply about though.

She rung a door bell outside a huge house. Nobody knew if it belonged to a rich person because it did seem rather old. Perhaps it was just a family manor passed down from generation after generation with various touch-ups to keep it in tact.

The door opened and a white haired boy a little older than Natsumi walked out. It was hard to tell if he was a college student or a high school student.

"Hey, Natsumi! I was wondering when you'd arrive." He smiled.

"Did you get the rooms ready?" Natsumi asked.

"No." He shook his head, "I didn't really want to clean them. They can choose their rooms themselves and pack up my stuff." He implied that his house was something of a pig sty.

Fuyuki's face finally had a moment of realization on who this was- "Saburo!" He was surprised to see him.

He frowned for a moment though. Was it really a good idea to escape the men in white by hiding away with Saburo? He had always suspected that Saburo had been part of the men in black.

"Hey Fuyuki." Saburo waved. "Don't worry, Natsumi's told me the whole story about your illness. I haven't seen you for a while. I'm really sorry about all that's happened."

"This a friend of your's, Natsumi?" Koyuki asked curiously.

"He's my boyfriend." Natsumi grinned. "We've been together for what...A year now?"

Saburo nodded.

Giroro's heart shattered. He just froze in place. _Boyfriend...? Natsumi has a boyfriend? One that will love and support her so much that he's even offered to help us...?_

So it really was hopeless for him and Natsumi. He shouldn't have even thought he had a smidgen of hope. He could never compete with mister normal childhood, perfectly sane, supportive, pretty boy.

Saburo was suddenly a name he very much hated.

"So he's offered to help us just because he thinks it's cool to break the law? Ku, ku, ku." Kululu asked, glancing at Giroro and mentally laughing at his suffering.

_Ku. At least the girl who likes me is obviously hopelessly in love with me. No other boys in her life. _Kululu thought to himself as Angol Mois hung on Keroro's arm behind him.

He had no idea how screwed he was.

"Pretty much." Saburo shrugged. "Have a problem with that?"

"On the contrary. I think it's quite cool." Kululu admitted.

Saburo stuck out his hand. "Name's Saburo. I have a feeling that we'll get along pretty nicely."

"Oddly I have that feeling too. Ku, ku, ku. I'm Kululu Jaune...Maybe you've heard reports about me in school and the famed super genius child that committed a terrorist act killing hundreds..." Kululu bragged.

"I don't pay attention in school." Saburo told him.

"Neither did I!" Kululu tried to relate.

There was this weird bonding thing going on. And everybody except Fuyuki was uncomfortable by it.

"Saburo and the sergeant Major are sure weird friends, huh?" Fuyuki laughed nervously.

"I'm beginning to question your sister's taste in men..." Keroro trailed off. He stuck his head into the house and saw a lot of Gundam models everywhere. "Never mind! Natsumi's taste in men is glorious! If you weren't dating this guy, boy would I be all over him just for his collection."

"I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult...? His collection of toys is the thing I like least..." Natsumi sighed.

Tamama screamed. Why did Keroro never pay attention to him? Either it was that woman that was his competition and now this pretty boy who collected Gundam? Life sure had a way of messing with him.

Saburo led them into his house.

* * *

They all had to share rooms except Saburo since he had his own room.

"Momoka, how about we room together." Natsumi suggested, giggling. She wanted to know if Momoka was future Fuyuki girlfriend material.

Everybody started splitting off into small groups- Dororo and Koyuki now that they could both choose their room mates, Fuyuki and Keroro were perfectly happy to be in a group, leaving Angol Mois, Tamama, Kululu and Giroro to figure out who roomed with who amongst each other.

Giroro was in such a bad mood that he didn't want to take up an active role in deciding a room mate. "Any one but him." He growled at Kululu.

"Ku, ku, ku. That's fine. I didn't want a room mate any way. I could take, Mois or something-" Kululu heard himself suggest.

"Actually I kind of want to be with Keroro. Maybe I should suggest something to him..." Angol Mois trailed off.

Kululu frowned and glanced behind his shoulder at Keroro. _Why Keroro? Oh wait... I get it...It's probably awkward for her to sleep in a room with me because she has a crush on me. _She might have been afraid that their relationship would progress far too quickly for either of their comfort.

Kululu wanted to reassure her, _After all, I know she's hopelessly in love with me, but I'm terrified of her. I don't think I could survive a relationship with her. _Much less that he wasn't experienced in real relationships, only using people to his own benefit.

He had to focus on other things too. Like keeping the group from being discovered. Keeping himself safe. Dating Mois would put to much on his plate. Not that that discouraged him, he sort of still liked the idea- it appealed to him. There was something in his gut that was getting all fluttery from the premise of having Mois's affection in not a platonic sense and having her lips on his-

He shook his head and refocused her attention to making sure she was his room mate instead of the gassy Tamama or Giroro who would maim him.

"I think he's rooming with Fuyuki. Look, I'm trying to do you a favor so you don't have to room with either of them-" Kululu reassured her.

"I would be fine with rooming with Angol Mois!" Giroro finally chimed in. That would be much better than Tamama or Kululu. He knew of Tamama's farting problem from Dororo.

"I wouldn't. I want Keroro's man meat too." Tamama hissed.

Kululu had never heard the term 'man meat' before. He and Giroro just looked at each other in stunned silence.

"I don't want to offend you, Kululu. I mean I really value you as a friend, but I'm not yet comfortable..." Angol Mois tried to talk to him.

"With me? Ku, ku, ku. I never expected you to be afraid of me. I can understand that." Kululu was a little hurt and shocked. She had always seemed to appear like she wasn't afraid.

"With sleeping in the same room alone with men." Angol Mois finished. "Unless it's Keroro. I trust him to do whatever he wants. I care about him very deeply."

She waved Keroro over. "Can I share a room with you?" She asked.

"No! Choose me instead of her!" Tamama cried.

"Dude, I'm already going to share a room with my original room mate, Fuyuki. Although I'm not going to discourage fighting over me." Keroro slow walked away.

Kululu was confused. But finally the gears in his head started turning. _Ah, she's worried something sexual might happen. I suppose that makes sense, a lot of people in the Hinata House came there from different traumas and I don't know much about hers. _"I'm really flattered that you think we'd do something like that, but I assure you I just think of you as a friend." Kululu tried to reassure.

He was planning to reject her short-term anyway.

Giroro, Mois and Tamama all looked at him rather confused.

"What do you mean think of me as just a friend?" Angol Mois asked.

"What do you mean 'friend?" Giroro asked again.

"Sounds like you were thinking some naughty things. Why did you reject her when she never suggested anything?" Tamama asked suspiciously.

"Obviously to reassure her, are you idiots?" Kululu pointed out. He decided not to go into detail of what Angol Mois was implying. "And I mean just that, I know you really want to pursue a relationship with me, Mois, but..." He looked awkwardly at Tamama and Giroro who were around them. He didn't really want to talk to her in front of them, "We should really be focusing on our escape for now instead of romantic feelings."

Angol Mois just looked so confused. She glanced at Giroro and Tamama for a translation.

"I think he thinks you're in love with him. I didn't know he was as delusional as Fuyuki." Giroro was snickering a bit.

"Oh!" Angol Mois gasped. She didn't know Kululu thought that.

Kululu felt a little awkward but he rolled his eyes. "It's because she does like me. Look, you might not know this but I met with Mois before in the Hinata House. We had this weird tea therapy that was set up by Garuru. And it become quite apparent that she had feelings for me..."

"How?" Mois asked curiously.

"The romance books. What kind of normal person reads someone such sappy terrible things that melts their brain away? And then all the, ugh, looking at me you did! Not to be rude to you or anything but your feelings were very obvious." Kululu pointed out.

Giroro couldn't hold back his laughter.

Kululu didn't understand why Giroro was laughing.

Angol Mois was blushing.

_Knew I hit it right on the nose. She's obviously embarrassed. _He didn't know it was for his sake. He didn't know that it was quite clear now that he was the one who liked her and was just having this idea that she had a crush on him.

"Well, I feel a tiny bit better." Giroro snorted.

"Umm...Uhhh, Kululu...I hate to say this, but you're wrong. You might have gotten the wrong idea...I'm actually in love with someone else." Angol Mois told him.

Kululu was shocked for a moment. _Someone else? But I didn't think she had someone else in her life! _She had made it quite clear how important she valued Kululu. He thought she had actually meant it.

"I'm in love with Keroro."

"H-him? But he's an idiot!" Was all the words Kululu could say in shock. He hadn't even wanted Keroro to come along, but now he had this weird hatred for the guy that he couldn't quite pin why he had it.

"Any way I think I'll just share a room with Tamama... How long did you think I was in love with you? You really should have brought it up sooner so I could clear up the misunderstanding—" She scolded.

"Only a few days." Kululu lied. He was feeling like an idiot.

"But I thought you said you didn't feel comfortable sharing a room with guys." Giroro pointed out.

Angol Mois latched her arms around Tamama's reluctant ones. Maybe she knew in the back of her mind that Tamama was gay and she felt safe around him. "I don't know! Something feels safe about Tamama. Maybe it's that...He's...What's the word...?"

"Atrocious?" Kululu offered.

"No...Um...Happy...? No, gay! That's it!" Angol Mois smiled.

Tamama narrowed his eyes. So she knew and she was still trying to steal his man! "How long have you known?"

"A week maybe." She shrugged. "But I'm sure you and Dororo will make a great couple." She was still dense.

Tamama screamed for Giroro and Kululu's help. But the rooms were already decided, even if Giroro and Kululu didn't want to share.

* * *

Surprisingly Giroro and Kululu didn't aggravate each other that night. Instead they were awfully quiet, in a rather gloomy mood.

"Ummm...I didn't know you could have feelings, but...I know what it feels like to be rejected..." Giroro tried to relate, "To know that you won't ever be good enough." Maybe Kululu wasn't as scary as he had last seen.

"Stop trying to relate to me. I don't want your pity. I'm nothing like you. I'm not pathetic and lovesick. It was just a slip up. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu hissed. "And I can't wait to see you suffer as you see your beloved Natsumi be with a better guy."

Giroro no longer wanted to help Kululu. He could sort through his own problems for all he cared. "I was just giving you what I owed you. You did help me escape. Without you I would have seen my mother."

_I made you have the need to escape. _Kululu felt superior.

"I can't believe my brother...My brother must have given the Hinata House her contact info. He betrayed me." Giroro hissed.

"Don't want your sob story. I'm not too attached to the whole idea of kinship with ones parents or family. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu mocked.

"What? Did you kill yours?" Giroro asked.

"My Mom. Dad happened to get away from the house before I could nab him. It's a pity. My siblings are still out there...Somewhere...They don't really visit nor do I hear about them. Too bad for them." He shrugged.

"Lucky that you killed your Mom. I wish I could." Giroro hissed.

"Want me to tell you about it?" Kululu actually looked at Giroro for once like he didn't need an air of superiority.

"Sure." Giroro smiled.

And the two went to bed, not bonding over their trouble with girls but over hearing stories about dead mothers.

* * *

**25 chapters and only now does Saburo make an appearance. Yep.**

**Please review.**


	27. Observation of the Fittest

**I see that many of my reviewers dislike Saburo. He was going to be more in this chapter, but honestly I got side-tracked. Sorry Saburo.**

**Don't worry. My heart remains filled with the Gironatsu.**

* * *

The whole yard was quiet. It was like the escaped patients were frozen in time. Nobody thought about the Hinata House staff finding them except Fuyuki.

Fuyuki knew the men in white were persistent. They didn't get much T.V in the old country home, but he felt like aliens escaping the Hinata House was probably on the news.  
"What are we going to do if they catch you guys?" Fuyuki asked Kululu, the only one who was really listening to him about aliens.

He knew he should be starting the healing process, remind everyone that they were aliens, but he was worried.

Kululu just put a hand on his face and pushed him away. "I have better things to do, brat. Don't bother me." Really Kululu was just as bad as the rest of them, quickly forgetting about threats because of one large distraction.

The distraction went by the name of 'Keroro'. Or more specifically Keroro's relationship with Angol Mois. Kululu didn't know why it was drawing so much of his attention, maybe it was because he was bugged out that Angol Mois had never told him about Keroro before or her desire to have him as her boyfriend.

It was like he had just been a small slice of her life and she had so much more than just him. Even though she had helped him and put her own safety at risk, Kululu was still a little mad that she had let him believe that she had a crush on him.

"Um...Sergeant Major...? You're staring at the sarge and awful lot..." Fuyuki pointed out.

"Say 'Ahhhh,' Mr. Keroro!" Angol Mois spoon fed Keroro like a baby.

Keroro of course could still not function in society properly so he loved getting attention and exploiting people. "K...Ahh!" He happily played pretend with Angol Mois, being a sort of happy couple.

Kululu's eyes narrowed and he watched. Eventually he stood up to join their conversation.

"K-kululu! But the men in white! They're still probably following us...Shouldn't we like booby-trap this place or something?" Fuyuki asked.

Kululu didn't listen as he went ahead to Keroro and Angol Mois.

Giroro put a hand on Fuyuki's shoulder and sniffled. "Don't stop him. He's doing something very important. He's fighting for what he wants."

"W-what...? When did you and Kululu become friends?" Fuyuki was shocked that Giroro would defend him.

"We didn't. I just relate to his situation a little bit with Natsumi. Although...I pity Keroro, Kululu probably won't just leave him alone like I will for Saburo. After all I care about Natsumi's happiness, so I'm not going to cause problems for Saburo." Giroro vowed.

"That's good, I guess..." Fuyuki was so confused. Wasn't anyone focusing on the real issue? The bigger picture instead of their love lives?

"It doesn't mean I'm going to give up though." Giroro swore. "Someday I'll prove to her that I'm the better person for her."

"You are aware that the Hinata House staff could catch us at any time, right?" Fuyuki tried to point out again. "I mean it's not like we're doing any preventative measures..."

Giroro didn't listen. Instead he watched Kululu and Keroro with baited breath. It was a painful experience. Not because Giroro felt bad for Kululu, quite the opposite.

Kululu was picking on Keroro quite a bit. Like way more than necessary. He was being the biggest jerk he could to ruin his life. A part of Giroro and Fuyuki suspected he wasn't even doing it because he was jealous. He was just awful.

Eventually after Keroro was reduced to tears and Mois was comforting him, Kululu walked off, grinning. He felt better.

And Fuyuki was left to wonder why nobody was listening to him about the danger they were in.

* * *

Kululu had actually heard. His mind took a few minutes to process what Fuyuki had said though. He needed to be in a better mood.

_He's right. We haven't really taken any preventative measures. And it's my mind at stake if they find us. _Kululu remembered.

He hated being around so many people. He hated having to socialize. It made it a lot harder for him to think. Not because they were distractions, but because of his illness.

During present times when he was around people, he was more afraid of interacting with them than anything else, even if that anything else was a real threat and a real issue. He had to constantly stress and be at the top of his game to appear frightening and like something that everybody respected, but feared.

Kululu's biggest secret wasn't that he had tricked them all into escaping, that was pretty predictable for him. No, his biggest secret was that he suffered from a strong social anxiety.

_The most frightening patient around, the devil of the fourth floor can not have anxiety. Anxiety is seen as rather harmless to others and only causes worry and discomfort for the person who has the anxiety. _Kululu tried to not let his anxiety control his life, but time and time again his interactions with people revolved around it. Sometimes, even if he didn't have a real problem with them it was just easier to arrange their deaths than have to interact.

But Kululu needed these people. They were his darling little scapegoats. His meat shields. So he had to play at least somewhat nice.

_Fuyuki's right though. I can't get distracted by how badly I failed with interacting with Mois, how I thought I...Meant something to her. I need to focus on me. I'm all that matters not her. _She was just a scape goat to him to. He tried to ignore that she had put her happiness at stake for him and was the only one who knew of his plans.

It hurt to much to know he was failing at this and betraying her.

"Saburo, Fuyuki," Kululu flicked his wrist and called the two of them over. "I was wondering if you could retrieve some parts of me. I can make a pretty unhackable network to detect if there are intruders and I can booby trap this place. Ku, ku, ku."

Fuyuki nodded.

Saburo sighed. "You do know that I have parents, right? Parents who will someday come home?"

"Keep telling yourself that, kid. I know how parents are. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu mocked.

Saburo frowned. "I can get you some parts."

"So you did listen to me! I knew you weren't just focused on picking on the sarge." Fuyuki laughed, "I mean...Usually Giroro is more of your butt monkey."

"Fair point, fair point." Kululu agreed. _But how do you know that? _Was the version of Kululu in Fuyuki's head rather accurate to who he was? _This boy is more perceptive than anyone's given him credit for. He's smart and observant. _He wasn't even trying to be. He was just picking up key character traits with ease.

No wonder even though he had delusions he was so charismatic and had managed to convince everyone to escape. Fuyuki was a powerful kid.

Kululu made a note to watch out for him. If he ever got on Fuyuki's bad side it might be bad for him.

He needed to play nice, make friends. "Want to help me make traps?" He offered Fuyuki.

"I'd love to."

* * *

Natsumi, Giroro, Saburo, Kululu and Fuyuki were the only ones who were really doing anything and making traps, fortifying their defenses. Natsumi and Giroro were laughing and bonding and fixing things up with Saburo. Whenever the two of them would get too close, Saburo would come in and kiss Natsumi. Giroro was trying to contain his rage and jealousy.

"Let it boil!" Tamama called as he didn't help.

Meanwhile Fuyuki and Kululu made traps by themselves. Fuyuki watched Kululu a bit, trying to figure him out. He hadn't mentioned anything more about the aliens, just like Natsumi.

Natsumi had immediately gone back to her rather normal self about denying their presence.

"Kululu...Why isn't anyone acknowledging that they're aliens yet?" Fuyuki asked.

Kululu shrugged.

"Don't they wonder why they were in the Hinata House? What it was? Or do they just easily accept that they were prisoners?" Fuyuki was confused.

_He's a smart kid. Better to give him a half-truth instead of the whole truth. He'll accept the half-truth. _"The Hinata House was pretending to be a mental hospital for mental patients. Although publicly they said their main purpose was to help, really it was to learn new things about the universe through experimentation. Mostly on your alien friends. Ku, ku, ku." He neglected to mention that it was actually on the more violent patients sent to the healing room.

Kululu and Giroro had been experimented on by far the most.

"Oh...A mental hospital!" Everything was starting to make sense now. The therapy sessions, Sai's weird songs and behaviors...She was just as bad as all of the rest of the men in white. "So they must have given us pretend diagnosis. I bet that's why they kept calling me delusional."

"Yeah. Ku, ku, ku. Pretend." Kululu lied. He knew Fuyuki actually was delusional.

"Sarge would be easy to peg down. He's quite a hoarder. Even I wanted him to stay for a time because he really did look like he needed help." Fuyuki admitted, "I heard the men in white and Momoka mention bipolar disorder in relation to Tamama..."

_You should have let Keroro stay! _Kululu thought to himself.

"Dororo's obviously depressed, because of his trauma switch thing." Fuyuki decided. "Easy to convince us he needed to stay too."  
"Actually he's got that and he's a druggie." Kululu corrected.

Fuyuki looked shocked. "A druggie? They got him addicted to drugs?"

Kululu nodded.

"Koyuki's just not normal. Not much to say about her. Momoka gets really weird sometimes...They were saying Mois was delusional to like me...That leaves you and Giroro. What were your fake problems?" Fuyuki asked.

"What problem doesn't Giroro have? Ku, ku, ku." Kululu laughed, "His anger management for one. War related PTSD, all sorts of things..."

Fuyuki frowned. So Giroro had felt a need to stay to. "What about you? You seem to know that you had no reason to stay."

"They tried to peg me with a disorder, put down all sorts of things, antisocial personality disorder, narcissism...A whole jumble. But eventually they decided I was just evil. The laughter was what made me look really insane. Ku, ku, ku. So no jail for me." Kululu hummed.

They had considered anxiety too. But most doctors didn't seem anxiety patients as having violent or dangerous traits. Anxiety was considered 'cute' and 'jittery' so Kululu of course couldn't have it.

Fuyuki looked at him for a moment inspecting him. "Nah...If I had to give you a disorder...It would be social anxiety." He finally decided.

Kululu tried not to show that he was unnerved. "Why that one?"

"You're not very good at making friends. I mean, you clearly want to interact more with Saburo but you're even picking on him. You're afraid of Mois and she's clearly your friend, it looks like you analyze everything you say to make it sound 'jerky' or give a certain image to you. Maybe being a jerk is easier to you than trying to be anything else because at least you have excuses to make mistakes in interaction and you don't have to worry about it—" Fuyuki started explaining.

Kululu snapped. His hand lunged forward to Fuyuki's neck, holding it in a way so Fuyuki couldn't breath. His long, untrimmed nails dug into Fuyuki's flesh.

"I would keep the speculations to a minimum, kid. I've killed people for saying less things about me. Ku, ku, ku, And your annoying one-dimensional character trope of going after aliens despite them not being real is rather tiring..."

Fuyuki didn't question why Kululu was against aliens suddenly. He couldn't breath.

"Kululu!" Dororo was the only one able to see that Fuyuki was turning purple and choking. "Release him! That hug is too strong." He was smoking a pipe. Obviously he was high and didn't know that Fuyuki was in actual danger.

_Ku. Calm down, Kululu. You need these people, remember? They didn't question Sai, but I probably can't hide Fuyuki's body. _He had a three strike minimum for deaths and Keroro was higher on his list than Fuyuki. He dropped him.

Fuyuki gasped for air for a moment.

Kululu glared down at him. "Ku, ku, ku. Just remember...You released me into the world..."

"I won't tell anyone." Fuyuki said finally. It was the last thing Kululu expected him to say.

"About the murder attempt? About your belief in aliens?" Kululu was confused.

"About your social anxiety. I can see it's a touchy subject. I'm sorry...I didn't understand before how important your image was to you. I never thought you could really have it, violent people aren't usually socially anxious, right?"

Kululu didn't know. He hadn't put much research into the subject. "Stop apologizing. It's gross."

"The Hinata House was smart, weren't they? They trapped us all there because we all had real reasons for being there. Only me and Mois escaped their brain washing because we had the least amount of actual trauma and illness."

_Nope. Pretty sure you two are the worst. I mean you don't even acknowledge reality for what it is. Neither does she. _Kululu had suspicious on what happened to both of them. In Fuyuki's case it was less of suspicious and more of- he had directly read it in his file.

"Thanks for trusting me enough to help motivate me to escape and to take you with me." Fuyuki thanked.

Kululu gagged. He hated optimists. _They're the ones I mess up most with socially! _The ones that were most difficult to read and that he usually enjoyed his time with most.

He didn't need another 'oh someone's in love with me' episode. Fuyuki would not get in his head like Mois had.

Instead he walked away determined to prove Fuyuki wrong that he wasn't anxious and socialize more with Saburo who he thought was rather cool.

It mentally killed Kululu inside. But to prove Fuyuki wrong he did it.

And Fuyuki bore no ill will on the murder attempt.

Still as he touched his neck, he wondered..._Is that what happened to Sai too?_ Fuyuki was perceptive. Rather detective like. And slowly he was figuring out Kululu's crimes and plan.

* * *

**This chapter took a while to write because my chapter summary (Which was written for my sister who originally was going to write this chapter was pretty much this: "HAHAHA. SHORT CHAPTER SUMMARY SUCK IT!") But I played myself because she left...**

**And then I had nothing to go off of except the word 'idk.'**

**Please review.**


	28. Red Lights

**This chapter should be renamed 'the Gironatsu' chapter.**

**My sister moved out yesterday for the first time ever. I was there when she was born. We've been together pretty constantly, so it's been difficult adjusting. But I hope fanfiction eases that!**

**Anyway...I think there's about 10 chapters left?**

* * *

Giroro hated that pretty boy Saburo. Sure Saburo hadn't actually done anything wrong, really he was the perfect host and perfect boyfriend to Natsumi, they laughed and giggled and looked like they had a strong rich history together, but Giroro still hated him.

He was jealous of him. Saburo was perfect. He had a big house, a lazy and reckless attitude and was a very big people person. His body was pretty well toned without the need to constantly work out and his hair was of course always perfect, his face was unscarred and unmarred and he wasn't carrying around a load of baggage like Giroro was. He also had Natsumi's heart.

"Giroro! Giroro!" Natsumi called enthusiastically. "Saburo just told the funniest joke. You have to hear it, come over here!" Natsumi pulled him over.

Despite all of it, all Giroro's boiling hatred for Saburo, he pretended that nothing was wrong. He pretended like he liked the guy. And it wasn't for anyone's sake except Natsumi's.

He really did care about her happiness. _She loves him. I love her. I can't just make trouble for him if she wants to be with him. _Giroro had decided.

However, it was sometimes difficult to keep his anger in check with Saburo. Giroro had always had temper issues and now he was having inferiority issues when facing the pretty boy too. He was worried that he'd wreck the small sort of team dynamic that they all had if he exploded. Worse yet he could seriously injure someone.

Kululu was the only one who had really seen how dangerous Giroro could be when he popped. Kululu may have been a psychopathic maniac jerk, but Giroro remembered the feel of maiming him. Crushing his bones and seeing his blood run against his hands. And that scared him. He had heard it had been part of Kululu's plan to get him to hurt him so he would be sent to the less secure hospital and escape, but that had fallen through.

Giroro didn't want to blow up. He didn't want to hurt Saburo. He didn't want to hurt his precious Natsumi. _I won't be like her. I won't be like my mother and hurt someone I care about. I'll never lay my hand on Natsumi._

Giroro shook his head at Natsumi's offer. He loved spending time with her, but spending time with Saburo was something he could do without. "Thanks for the offer, Natsumi, but I'd thought I'd just roast some sweet potatoes in the yard instead."

"It's mined you know. Ku, ku, ku. I planted mines everywhere." Kululu told him.

"I know!" Giroro had already accidentally stepped into one in the morning. He was lucky that he was used to avoiding actual mines or else he might be dead. "I found a nice spot that I can cook potatoes anyway."

"Well then, why don't I join you?" Natsumi offered. She'd take a yam over Saburo's company any way. Her gluttony knew no bounds. "Sorry Saburo, you just can't compete over my one true love." She teased.

"No problem. Go stuff your stomach with yams or something. Just be careful and don't eat too many or else you'll get fat." He teased.

Natsumi frowned at even the insinuation that she should watch what she ate. She could eat however many yams she wanted. She didn't kiss him good-bye as she went to the yams.

Giroro smiled as Natsumi sat down beside him and the two started talking. Even if Natsumi didn't love him, every day, every minute their friendship and bond grew stronger.

Giroro truly felt there was something there and he knew with the way Natsumi smiled she believed they were friends too.

* * *

Keroro had taken over somewhat as the leader of the group, organizing events and more importantly what supplies they needed.

"We're running low on food since so many people are living in this house." He told the group. "I think someone should do a grocery shopping supply run."

Everybody groaned. Nobody wanted to risk their safety and leave to do a supply room.

"I'll-" Dororo volunteered.

"Not you! You'll spend all the money on drugs." Keroro pointed out.

Dororo did not deny that.

"Do we even have money?" Saburo asked. He wasn't loaning them any.

"I brought some. I don't know if it'll be enough though..." Momoka sighed. She took out a small wallet, with literal billions of yen. It was more than most of them would likely see in their lifetime. "I don't want us spending it to fast so I'll be the treasurer."

_I don't think there's any risk of that. _Everybody thought.

"So who wants to shop for food and supplies?" Keroro asked again. He looked around the room. Tamama looked to the side- he knew he'd buy candy.

Koyuki looked confused, she had never been to a grocery store.

Saburo didn't want to, neither did Keroro.

"I wouldn't be able to carry any of the bags." Fuyuki admitted and laughed.  
"I would be spotted way too easily. Everybody knows what I look like." Momoka pointed out.

"I don't know how to use pekoponian money." Angol Mois declared. She was clearly too delusional to go, and didn't know about society same as Koyuki.

That left Kululu, Giroro and Natsumi.

"Ku, ku, ku. I'd like to, believe me...There's a whole bunch of things I could get at the store, but I haven't walked very much in years. I doubt I'd be able to without collapsing." Kululu admitted.

"I can go." Giroro sighed. He didn't much like traffic lights but he could at least try to function normally, especially if Natsumi might go with him. He would be very happy to have some alone time with her.

"I'd love to go shopping with you." Natsumi smiled. "I feel like we've never hung out like that. Sure we talked in the Hinata house at lunch, and now we're roasting potatoes together, but shopping together...It sounds like a real hang out session." She was excited for it.

Giroro smiled. He was excited too.

* * *

Giroro had gotten to know Natsumi a lot. He listened to her talk over their lunch times, he knew about her friends, her aspirations, the weaponry that she liked, all sorts of things. But besides Giroro's interests, Natsumi was slowly realizing that she didn't know a lot about his past.

He matched her strides perfectly, walking by her side. Most people would wonder if they were dating or if they were holding hands, but Natsumi knew he was walking close to her because they needed to travel in a group in case they ran across some police.

"I won't be able to see Yayoi and Satsuki again." Natsumi slowly realized. "We ran away from them."

"I'm sorry, Natsumi." Giroro's voice actually sounded sincere. "If...if it's too much of a bother to you, you could always go back to them. I could watch after Fuyuki and you could be free to live your life."

Natsumi shook her head. "He needs family." She didn't want to sound mean since Giroro had left his brother. "And it doesn't bother me that much...I mean they were my best friends but we shared no real interests. Not like me and you."

"But they were your best friends." Giroro raised an eyebrow and pointed out.

"I'm pretty sure I have a new best friend now. I wouldn't trade them to go back to Yayoi and Satsuki." Natsumi reassured.

"...Koyuki?" Giroro was confused.

Natsumi giggled. He was sure dense. "You."

Giroro turned pink. "I consider you a great comrade as well." He was never very good at talking directly to her and paying her compliments. Related to many things to battle, but it was cute in it's own way.

_He's so bad with girls. _Natsumi thought to herself.

"Did you have any best friends before the Hinata House?" Natsumi asked. "Any friends you left behind?"

Giroro shook his head. "My...My mother didn't let me play with other kids when we were in our home country. She didn't want them coming to our house and she thought it would distract me. Still, every few years we'd come visit Keroro's family who remained close to both my parents. I played with Keroro a bit and he introduced me to Dororo. So I suppose both of them would be considered my old friends."

"I suppose in a way it's nice that you were able to meet up with them again in the Hinata House, huh?" Natsumi asked. She knew a little about Giroro's mother, that he didn't want to be around her. She didn't try to pry.

Giroro shook his head. "I have to wonder why all three of us ended up there. Did we just bring each other down or was there one person in the group who poisoned the other two? Since Keroro and Dororo really never did anything truly terrible to me I can only really assume I was the problem. It's just too coincidental for all three of us to end up there. Should I...I have done something more for them?" Giroro asked. "Did I ruin them?"

"I think the stupid frog thinks the same thing. That he ruined the two of you. You did nothing Giroro. You weren't even in the same country most of the time." Natsumi reassured. "You don't ruin friendships. Are you bringing this up because you're worried about me?"

Giroro looked down. He was. He was worried of hurting Natsumi.

Natsumi grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "You won't ruin me. I'm here for you."

* * *

Giroro may have had a long and complicated past- Natsumi knew that, but Natsumi had problems too. And usually she tried to hide them away for people to not see, they were gaping disgusting wounds.

She hadn't ever been admitted to the Hinata House, but the facts were that if she didn't try desperately to not let anyone see her problems she would have been admitted. Not only had the death of her mother left terrible pain for her, but she was incredibly violent and angry.

Her violence could go off like a light switch. And the only one she really trusted to see that side of her was Giroro.

A man in the street who had his arm draped around two scantily clad girls bumped into them.

"Sorry." Giroro apologized.

The man didn't say sorry. He just laughed. "You're not very tough are you? A better man would stand strong in front of his girlfriend."

"She's not my—" Giroro retorted. He bit his tongue. He couldn't afford to get in a fight. He needed to keep his temper calm. He wouldn't hurt this idiot.

Natsumi put her hand on Giroro's arm. She knew it was hard for both of them to keep their cool. She wasn't sure how Giroro was handling it.

"Still I wouldn't like a girlfriend like that. Pigtails went out of style years ago, she looks kind of immature, doesn't she?" The man laughed.

"Take that back!" Giroro yelled knowing he shouldn't get in a fight.

"It's fine. I'm not mad." Natsumi laughed. Kululu had already pointed out about the pigtails. "Keep calm." She advised.

"You couldn't get in a fight with me even if you wanted to," The man continued trying to rile Giroro up. "I never lose fights against guys who have scars just for aesthetic. That's sooo dorky."

"Aesthetic?" Giroro reached up to his face. His scar was real! He had lost sight in one eye for goodness sake.

Natsumi now looked furious at that line. She knew Giroro had a bit of trouble seeing. She wasn't going to let her friend get picked on.

She knew she should keep Giroro calm, keep them out of trouble, but she broke. She grabbed the first thing she saw that was easy to throw- a small rock and chucked it at the guy.

"OW!" The guy screamed and rubbed his face.

"N-natsumi...Don't get angry, I'm not even bothered by it!" Giroro promised. "He's nothing compared to Kululu."

But Natsumi wasn't letting this go. "Apologize."

The man laughed, "Ah! So I see. This girl isn't your girlfriend. She's like your mother. You do look like the type who would need a mom."

"It's fine, Natsumi." Giroro continued. He wasn't going to get triggered by something as little as that. He knew Natsumi would probably be worried about him, he was the type who had deep issues involving his mother.

He didn't realize that there was one person who was also likely to get upset by that line. _Need...Need a mom? _Natsumi repeated the line in her head. Images flashed of Aki's crumpled body- a mother that she would never have now.

How even when Aki had been alive she wasn't around. Her father was gone, and she was alone. She didn't cry though like a normal person would do when going through a bad flash back episode, instead her fists started shaking.

She let out a low gurgle of a growl and charged at the man. The man gave a loud high pitch scream and the women with him fled.

"Get back here! I'll kill you!" Natsumi yelled. She was perhaps more violent than Giroro. Giroro realized what was happening and grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a tight hug to try desperately to calm her down.

"Natsumi, Natsumi..." Giroro repeated as she tried desperately to scratch and tear herself away from Giroro. She needed to hurt someone, something. She needed to get that guy to take it back.

She needed to hurt someone so she would feel like she had some control. Any control over her life. She just yelled instead of crying.

"Don't do this. Don't hurt anything." Giroro told her in a calm voice, "You need to keep your temper in check. One outburst...That's all they need to take you away. And you'll be locked up forever."

"Nobody's here! No cops would see me!" Natsumi growled.

"Someone would report you as a dangerous person. I will not have you going through what I went through- being locked away." Giroro tried to calm her down. "More importantly though, if you live out your anger filled fantasies you'll regret it."

"How?" Natsumi growled.

"You'll regret hurting someone for the rest of your life, as I have." He sighed. "When I ran away to Japan after I was discharged from the war, I had constant flash backs. Loud noises and lights were especially bad. But I also had flashbacks from my mother. I was crossing the street one day, the traffic lights were red...There was a lot of noise and one old lady's voice stuck out. It was nagging but it sounded so much like her's- my mother's. I...I don't know what happened...I snapped. I thought I was in the war again and she was there and I charged at her and beat her to death. That's when I was sent away to the Hinata House." Giroro told Natsumi.

Natsumi started going limp at Giroro's story. "I...I had no idea, Giroro." She had no idea that he had killed before. That he had an outburst like that. She wasn't scared of him, his story was more a 'what she could go through.'

He had saved her. She would have killed that man. She felt nauseous at herself. If she hadn't had Giroro there talking her through it, relating to her, she would have killed someone.

"Are you feeling better?" Giroro asked, seeing that Natsumi wasn't yelling.

"Y-yeah...I'm not angry anymore...More sad than anything." More scared especially.

Giroro started relaxing his grip and letting her go.

"Don't." Natsumi ordered. "Can we just stay like this for a moment? I...I want to be held."

Giroro obliged. He knew she needed comfort and was probably scared. He had gone through all the same emotions before. "I'm here. You don't have to deal with it alone."

Natsumi was so glad to have Giroro in her life.

* * *

They finally got to the small market and shopping district. They got most of the things on the list, except curry. Natsumi wasn't sure why that was on the list.

Natsumi had always felt close to Giroro, but she was slowly realizing how comfortable she felt around him. How deep her relationship really was, it was passionate, it was comforting, it lit some sort of fire in her heart.

She had never noticed how attentive he was to her, how caring he was before. But he did so much for her, be it protect Fuyuki with all his well being, or help reach some groceries for her. He would say stuff like 'of course I'm here for you, I'm your friend', but the protective way Giroro looked at her made Natsumi feel slightly differently.

She liked being around Giroro, and slowly she felt her hand reaching over and grabbing his. He'd blush a bit but keep his body a respectful distance away from hers despite the fact that they were holding hands.

_She has a boyfriend. _Giroro reminded himself. _She's not interested._

But he was wrong, the more Natsumi was around him, the more Natsumi thought about him throughout the day, the more drawn she felt herself. She was interested. _Stop that! _Natsumi slapped her cheeks as she realized she was looking at him again. Giroro wasn't bad to look at.

She had gotten used to him looking at her, gazing at her. She had started wanting it. _Saburo's your boyfriend. He's a great boyfriend. He let all your friends and brother stay at his place just to help you! _Natsumi reminded herself.

She knew Saburo was her boyfriend, but there were facts she had to face someday that they had no common interests. He was simply her first love, nothing more, and likely he wouldn't be her last love.

But now was not the time to be looking and thinking of another boy with all that Saburo had sacrificed. She should not be thinking about Giroro. _I keep telling myself that, but why is it that I so desperately want his attention then? _Natsumi wondered. She was getting impatient. He hadn't asked her if she needed something or made a joke about Keroro in a while.

"Are there any spices you need to make more sweet potatoes?" Natsumi asked, squeezing closer to Giroro, a bit too close for comfort. _Augh, my voice and body sound desperate! Like I'm flirting with him or something. _She was, but she didn't feel the need to tell herself that.

Giroro jumped back a little bit in surprise at how close she was. Her chest was practically pressed up against his arm and she was pouting. "W-we have all the spices we need." _You're the best spice, Natsumi. Augh! I'm the worst!_

Natsumi frowned. He was stuttering a bit. She needed to back off. She didn't need to wreck two of her relationships, the relationship she had with Giroro and Saburo.

They eventually finished getting groceries.

"It's 10 miles on foot back to Saburo's place. We have to walk across the one big street, but it should be a boring hike back." Natsumi sighed. "Yay." More time to think about why she suddenly wanted Giroro's attention.

She realized it wasn't exactly suddenly. She had always liked him being around and his attention. Now was really the first time she noticed how much she needed him by her side. He was someone she trusted more than anything.

Giroro nodded. "I can carry you if you get tired." He offered. He kind of wanted to impress her and be better than Saburo.

Natsumi smiled a bit. "I'll hold you up to that offer if I do get tired, but don't think you can out walk me!" She retorted. "Maybe you'll be the one to collapse and I'll be the one carrying you." She was way too competitive. Saburo had always been unsupportive of that side of her, but Giroro...He was competitive to, and she always won against him. She kicked his butt.

Giroro laughed. That was a challenge he'd take.

* * *

The one street was actually rather busy. There were a lot of cars for someplace that was supposed to be in the boonies.

The traffic light turned red signifying not to walk. A light blared. For some reason this confused Giroro and he walked forward.

Because of the blindness in his left eye he couldn't see the giant van coming from one direction. It was going pretty fast.

"Giroro!" Natsumi dropped her shopping bag, not caring about it compared to Giroro's safety. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back as the van ran past.

"W-whoa!" Some of his groceries and supplies had fallen out too. "I...I did not see that..." He didn't seem that shaken up over almost dying. It was nothing compared to the front lines.

"G-giroro..." Natsumi was shaken up though. He could have been run over. "You could have died!"

He shrugged. "I've seen worse. I guess I should let you lead the way, huh? Sorry for being distracted." He apologized.

Before Natsumi could stop herself, she was crying. _I can't lose someone again. Not someone I care about so much...Not to the road..._Not like Aki. Aki had been pulverized in a crash too.

And that's when it hit her. She cared about Giroro. Giroro was someone she loved that it would break her if she lost him the same way she lost her mother.

"Natsumi...Natsumi..." Giroro tried to bend down as she crouched and cried. "I'm here...It's fine. I'm okay." He reassured.

Natsumi couldn't stop herself. She needed to make sure he was okay. She pulled him down in a tight kiss.

Giroro was shocked for a moment, before she pushed him off.

"I'm s-sorry...I'm so sorry...Oh my god..." She covered her mouth blushing, "It's just...I can't lose someone I love again from a road...I can't do that..." She just shook her head. "Oh no, I kissed you...Oh gods am I sorry..."

She couldn't finish her apologies, because Giroro was putting his arms around her waist and pulling her into another kiss. She dropped the rest of her bags as she let him kiss her, putting her arms around his neck and pulling him tighter.

She was no longer crying. Kissing Giroro felt amazing. And even better when he had clearly initiated it.

"You like me? You love me?" Giroro asked in between kisses, the smile across his face very apparent.

"Uh-huh..." Natsumi was in a daze. Kissing someone had never felt so right, so invigorating. This was nothing like kissing Saburo, this was just a fiery ball of passion, she didn't even care about the groceries at their feet, she just wanted to keep exploring his body and mouth.

Giroro just smiled. "I love you so much, Natsumi. You have no idea how long I have...I'm so happy."

She continued kissing him to shut him up. But a tiny part of her felt guilty. _What about Saburo? You're cheating on him! _Natsumi reminded herself.

Kissing Giroro felt so right though, it made her eyes close, her hands tighten around his hair and a desire to just fling Giroro into the nearest forest bush reside inside of her. She loved it.

_I'll break it off with Saburo later. _She promised herself.

_Later? Rather than sooner? _Natsumi felt worried.

Giroro could tell she was getting less into it. He pulled back and helped her pick up groceries. "S-something wrong?" He asked.

"Saburo." She said one word.

Giroro nodded. "You...You going to break it off?" He tried not to sound hopeful.

"I'm going to!" Natsumi reassured, "I'm just worried...He sacrificed so much for us, for me...Just so my brother could be safe. If I told him I was leaving him, for well you...Would he be mad? Would he call the authorities and turn us in? I don't know if I can put Fuyuki's safety at stake..."

"You can tell him when you're ready." Giroro decided. He didn't care as long as Natsumi was his. "That might take a while, but our relationship...Can remain a secret if you wish."

She hugged him. "Thank you."

She didn't know how she had started up a secret affair with Giroro and she did feel bad for both Saburo and Giroro, but it was for the best.

She needed to help Fuyuki. Even if it was putting her comfort at stake.

She loved Giroro, but she needed to take a little time to get ready to break it off with Giroro. Was that still wrong? Was...That still cheating?

Natsumi knew deep down it was. Even if she didn't love Saburo she shouldn't have cheated on him. She felt bad.

But that didn't mean she'd stop.

* * *

**Please review.**


	29. Robber Man

**You guys really hate Saburo. Not that I can blame you, I'm not the biggest fan of him either and at the time I wrote this chapter summary I was even less of a fan before his fans came and were very insulted by my treatment of him.**

**However, for old time's sake, here is a chapter that deals with Saburo...At least a bit. **

**This chapter had very little chapter summary so I apologize for its randomness.**

* * *

Fuyuki liked Saburo's house- decently that is. It was peaceful, and the men in white weren't even close to finding them.

Which was why he was confused when Natsumi of all people suggested leaving. "M-maybe we shouldn't be staying here." She suggested to the group. "Staying in one place...It's just like being sitting ducks."

Fuyuki noticed that her finger's were fidgeting, her face was slightly flushed. All logic showed that there were other reasons that she was suggesting this to.

Kululu raised an eyebrow. Fuyuki glanced over at him but noticed that he was probably thinking the exact same thing that he was thinking.

_He's observant too. _Fuyuki recalled. Of course Kululu would catch the small stutter in Natsumi's voice. He expected Kululu to point it out as well.

"I'm worried that someone in town might be able to recognize me. News reporters are probably out with the faces of the escaped patients." Giroro blurted out. "And my face is rather recognizable because of the scar."

Kululu nodded. He agreed with all of Giroro's points. He thought for a moment. "What do you suggest then? Three of us have rather recognizable faces and couldn't go with the tactic of blending in with the rest of the populace..." He pointed to himself, Giroro and Momoka, "And two of us have no concept of how the world actually works. Ku, ku, ku." He gestured over by Koyuki and Mois.

"Don't forget me!" Dororo wanted to feel included in a meaningless statistic. "I always wear a medical mask. That makes me stick out." Even though in this case it was a bad thing to stick out, he wanted to do so.

Kululu sighed. "So it's really not an option to leave. Everywhere else is more populated than this place. Ku, ku, ku."

"We could escape to another country-" Natsumi suggested, "It would take a few weeks of being on the constant run but we wouldn't have to worry about the Hinata House-"

Kululu shook his head. "They'd catch us if we tried to leave the country." After all that was what the Hinata House was afraid of. That was why they were going to give him a lobotomy. So other countries didn't get a hold of him and use him as a weapon. "Not only that but none of us have passports."

"I do." Giroro squeaked out. He wasn't native to this country anyway.

"I probably have one scanned on my phone...But it's back in the Hinata House." Angol Mois pointed out.

Everybody else shook their heads. And it would take too long to fake any passports.

Natsumi frowned. She really didn't want to feel like she owed Saburo anything for letting them stay. "You're really okay with just sitting around and being sitting ducks? We could at least try to smuggle ourselves out of the country." Sure, since she wasn't technically escaping anything she wasn't really on the run, she could leave legally, but everybody else would have issues.

They were silent for a moment. Finally Kululu spoke up. "I suppose you're rather right. If I've learned anything from my escape plans it's that staying in one place never helps. They always find you. Ku, ku, ku. We should be leaving."

Natsumi grinned broadly.

"What about the passport issue?" Keroro asked.

"I can fake some." Kululu decided. _At least for me. I don't need the rest of you holding me down in some other country. _Natsumi had suggested a good idea. And being in a larger group being transported over sea's wouldn't benefit him in the slightest.

So he'd just throw them all under the bus when he got to some boats. He'd make a fake passport for himself, split off with the rest of the party saying that he'd check things out and come back to them with information, and then he'd ditch. Angol Mois could possibly come with, he wasn't quite sure yet. But it would be the perfect opportunity to ditch those losers.

Then they couldn't hurt him by making it more likely that he'd get discovered.

"Where's the nearest dock though? A place that has ships that leave the country?" Keroro asked.

Saburo pulled out a map. "Should be here. My guess would is that it would take a week to travel there by bus. Weeks to travel by foot which would be safer?"

"You're coming with?" Natsumi asked. "But wouldn't it be safer for you to stay in the country?" For some reason she sounded nervous.

"But you're my girlfriend, and you're going with." Saburo pointed out. "I just can't leave you."

Natsumi looked a bit uncomfortable but reluctantly nodded. "So...We head there?"

* * *

They decided to travel by foot. That was the easiest way, and the safest. It didn't risk them being seen as much or being tracked. Bus tickets could be traced back to them after all.

They had agreed that they'd still spend money on motels though, so they didn't have to sleep outside. Some of the party gave small complaints to the amount of walking they'd have to do, mostly Fuyuki and Kululu.

Kululu surprisingly didn't notice the amount of tension between Natsumi and Saburo, or he didn't care. Instead he stuck by Saburo's side and tried to have rather intellectual conversations with him. The two seemed to be on friendly terms.

It confused Fuyuki.

_I mean I'm fine with them being friends. They've always been friends..._Fuyuki knew that. But there were some things he wasn't really getting about this world where his friends were brainwashed. He knew they were all aliens and he now knew that they didn't know that because of the men in white, but...Natsumi had never been dating Saburo. Sure, he could see it happening, but it had never been a thing.

Why was Kululu only telling him about aliens when he wanted something out of Fuyuki? It felt almost manipulative...And there were so many other questions Fuyuki had that were jumbled in his head. Why did Momoka seem to be acting differently towards him? What was up with the weird longing glances that Kululu was giving Mois every now and then?

And most importantly...Where was his mother? Why had Aki never been mentioned by any of his friends or Natsumi?

_Where's Sai too? _Why did nobody ever question that Kululu possibly hadn't tied her up. Fuyuki had noticed how his shirt had been inside-out the next time they had seen him. Why? Why would he need to do that?

Had Sai really been a mole?

_There's some sort of mystery about Kululu...Something he's not telling me..._Fuyuki realized. He decided to ask him about some of his questions, not to get a real answer, but just as a test, later. He'd see if Kululu was just giving him answers he wanted by trying to catch him off guard.

That later came much later than Fuyuki wanted. There was way too much walking for someone of his abilities. But eventually they came upon a motel late at night.

Momoka paid for the rooms and sighed. "Are we going to sleep in shifts with guards to make sure nobody's circled us?" She asked.

Giroro nodded. "I'll take the first shift...Natsumi, care to join me?" He asked hopefully a small smirk at his lips.

"Sure." She had a teasing, almost happy expression. Saburo didn't seem to notice. He was a normal boyfriend, and a rather good one. He didn't have a problem with his girlfriend having male friends or being close to them while he wasn't around. He trusted Natsumi.

"Thanks, babe." Saburo kissed Natsumi on the cheek and wished her a good night.

The others waved to them and headed into their beds or on the floor.

"I'm going to take a quick bath. Does anyone want to join me?" Fuyuki asked.

Momoka looked at him oddly. Was he suggesting this to her.

"I would be happy to!" Keroro gleefully said.

"I don't bathe." Kululu was pretty blunt about this fact and not ashamed of it in the least bit.

Everybody covered their noses and said 'ewww', simultaneously.

"What?" Kululu shrugged. "I've been out of the habit for years. I don't think I even remember how. Garuru was the one who gave me sponge baths in the Hinata House. Ku, ku, ku. It wasn't exactly the sort of scenario that was ideal so I haven't really seen a reason-"

"You need to bathe." Mois frowned. "I know it's hard, probably...But it's ummm...Better for everybody's sake, you could say, a duty for all?" Even she thought he probably needed to bathe.

He glanced at her and saw that she was staring at him. He looked startled and backed away. He didn't want to admit that he didn't know how but he nodded quickly just to get her to stop looking.

"Look, I guess I understand your fear of bathing, believe me I was the same way when I came to the Hinata House, I suppose the only good thing about the therapists there was that they taught me that hygiene is important," Angol Mois twirled her hair. "So I could help you if you want-" She offered.

"I'll bath with Fuyuki." Kululu quickly grabbed Fuyuki's arm, doing anything to get away from a bath with Angol Mois. His face was rather red, but Angol Mois nodded.

She smiled a little, as if in the back of her head she knew he'd agree to bath with Fuyuki if she used that bit of leverage on him.

_Wait a minute! She played me! _Kululu realized. He was a bit impressed.

Fuyuki smiled. He had actually wanted some time with Kululu alone anyway. "Me and Kululu will go after the rest of you then? I bet he doesn't want anyone else around."

"I wouldn't mind Giroro. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu grinned wickedly.

"Why?" Giroro asked.

"My headphones are wires. Likely I could electrocute you. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu mocked.

Giroro paled. He shook his head. It would be just Kululu and Fuyuki.

* * *

With the knowledge that Kululu could electrocute him, Fuyuki kept Kululu's head out of the water as he sat him down.

He had a lot of questions, a lot of tests.

"I bet you wanted to be alone with me to talk about aliens or something, huh?" Kululu could read him easier than Fuyuki could read anyone else. "Ku, ku, ku. Ask desperately how to get your friend's memories back?"

Fuyuki bit his lip. So Kululu knew what he wanted to talk about. All his questions. _No. I don't need to know about aliens this time. I want to know if Kululu's been manipulating me and doesn't actually believe any of the things he's told me. _Fuyuki was distracted by Kululu's body a bit though- scars were over his torso and chest.

"Checking me out? You're a bit young for me. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu mocked. "I'm not into younger people like Giroro or Keroro."

Fuyuki didn't blush by the accusation, he just shook his head and corrected him. "Why do you have so many scars?"

Kululu splashed water over himself as if to cover himself. "There was once a place I went to that was worse than the Hinata House when it came to experimentation..."

"Dissecting aliens?" Fuyuki's face paled.

"The experiments were so grotesque that I heard patients actually died there." Kululu explained. "I, of course, wasn't something they could afford to lose. I was hidden away on a floor similar to the fourth floor...But they still experimented on me. And it was much worse than any 'fun with science' the hinata house put me through. The scars you see are just what didn't heal on the outside."

Fuyuki paled. "What happened to that place?" A worse institution than the Hinata House? He couldn't believe it.

"Someone found out about the inhumanity. There were a lot of lawsuits against it. I was transferred during the time of the lawsuits to the Hinata House. Heard the place shut down officially a bit after that. Wouldn't be surprised if every patient besides me had been gassed or something." Kululu shrugged. "Don't know if someone took over the institution after it was shut down. It might have been reopened by now with new guidelines. Hopefully not. It was an awful place. Ku, ku, ku."

"What was it called?" Fuyuki asked.

"Keron." Kululu whispered the name as if it would call the people from that institution into the bathroom.

Fuyuki turned white. _That's...That's a planet...Don't tell me they stole another name? _Not only that...But that was the place Angol Mois had said she had been.

Fuyuki tried to sweep it out of his mind. He needed to change the subject. "Can I ask you about something else? I've noticed that there are some things that even I'm confused about in my memories about our group. Since you have all your memories I want some explanations." Fuyuki tried to talk Kululu up, even though really he thought Kululu didn't have any of his memories.

Kululu nodded, allowing him to ask questions.

"I don't remember my sister dating Saburo. Sure, she liked him, but they were never dating." Fuyuki told him.

Kululu waved his hand. "Well, the answer to that is obvious. They must have started dating while you were in the Hinata House. That's why you didn't hear about it."

Fuyuki frowned. That made too much sense.

"Momoka's not acting the same as she was in my memories...She was more stutter, acting like she sought out my attention more...What's up with her sudden change?" Fuyuki asked.

"Ku, ku, ku. Are you absolutely certain she was like that? You know, I heard that...some people over observe other people's actions and make themselves believe they have some sort of crush on them because they themselves have a crush on that person. Sounds like Momoka was never like that and you just wanted her to act like that." Kululu talked all high and mighty even though he had made the same mistake.

Fuyuki frowned. _Hypocrite. You thought Mois liked you! _His explanation made a lot of sense though...So much sense that Fuyuki was blushing.

"...Nobody's mentioned my mother...It's like they don't remember her. Not even Natsumi's mentioned Aki." Fuyuki finally whispered out.

Kululu smiled. He had read Fuyuki's file. He knew Fuyuki's delusions had started because of Aki. Because he didn't want to face her death. "She's probably fine. Just off visiting her husband or something."

Fuyuki looked at Kululu for a moment. He had given himself away. If Aki was off doing anything it was working. His father was gone.

_He doesn't know Mom at all. He's just saying what he wants me to hear! _

He had two more questions though. Two more questions that would assure himself that Kululu just was giving him answers he wanted to hear.

"I don't remember you ever giving Mois such longing glances before...Is that something that the men in white wiped from my memories?" Fuyuki asked bluntly.

Kululu sputtered. He didn't have an answer for that one. "That's never happened." He just had a flat out lie.

Fuyuki frowned. Kululu wasn't even trying with that answer.

He asked his final question. "Kululu...What really happened to Sai Uru? I know there's no memory alteration there..."

Kululu smiled broadly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Fuyuki didn't answer. He could already suspect.

Kululu had lied to him and used him. And somewhere inside his mind he had a malicious plot. One that Fuyuki hoped would best benefit the rest of his friends, and him.

Was Kululu on their side or his own? Fuyuki didn't yet know.

* * *

Giroro and Natsumi barely did any actual standing guard. Instead they made out privately. A secret affair sort of relationship was very risky and something they were making the best of while the secret was still a secret.

However because of this and the lights turned off and everybody sleeping in a room next door, they didn't notice the door creak open and a deranged robber sneak past.

The robber looked at the two people making out and crept past them to the bedrooms. He looked around for money and finally saw Momoka sleeping with a purse.

"I'm done with my bath." Fuyuki opened the door and announced. Everybody was sleeping rather soundly except Saburo who was waiting for his turn with the bath. He hadn't checked on Natsumi in the room next door though.

Saburo was drifting off but he woke up from the sound of Fuyuki's voice. "Fuyuki!"

"Stop!" The robber yelled.

Everybody woke up when they realized somebody knew was in the room. Fuyuki still had a towel around himself but he didn't stop himself as he ran over to Momoka realizing that the robber was targeting her.

"Fuyuki! Don't do anything dangerous!" Momoka tried to warn him.

"Move and you die!" The robber pulled out a gun. Nobody knew where he had gotten the gun.

They all sucked in their breath.

"Why...Why didn't Giroro and Natsumi realize this guy broke in?" Keroro was flabbergasted at their incompetence.

Saburo wasn't moving. He was just waiting for his moment to strike. He just needed to be quiet...Patient...

Fuyuki didn't listen to the robber's advice. He wouldn't let Momoka be hurt. He moved in front of her and Momoka hid behind his shoulder's.

_Fuyuki's so cool..._Momoka realized and blushed.

"If you want to get through her you'll have to go through me." Fuyuki tried to be cool even though he was scared. He was only in a towel.

"Gladly." The robber laughed. "I don't care if your group does look like the people on the government wanted posters. I suppose after I kill this boy I'll turn you all in for the reward..."

He raised his gun. The shot fired.

"FUYUKI!" It wasn't Keroro who saved Fuyuki from almost certain death. It wasn't even Momoka.

It was Saburo. Saburo used his chance and sprung forward without thinking, taking the bullet for Fuyuki. It blasted through his torso and he collapsed on Fuyuki, coating him bloody red.

"S-saburo...Saburo...Why?" Fuyuki asked.

"Because you're my girlfriend's brother..." Saburo smiled. "I wouldn't be a very good boyfriend if I didn't help you."

The door opened and Giroro and Natsumi finally came in having heard the shot.

"What the hell is going on?" Giroro asked. He hadn't yet straightened his jacket. Natsumi's hair was ruffled.

The secret was out. It was very apparent that they had been making out.

Horror flashed on Saburo's face, just as he died. The last memories he made was the fact that he died for his girlfriend who had just been cheating on him.

Everybody was just in silence as Saburo stopped breathing. Natsumi let out a cry.

Apparently nobody remembered the robber was still there, except Kululu.

"Guys, there's still an armed robber here...With a gun..." He pointed out. He tried to do anything with his headphones. He didn't want to die. "Damn! There's water in them! Getting water in your ears sucks! Ku, ku, ku..." He was gritting his teeth. He didn't want Saburo's death to be in vain. He actually liked him.

The robber laughed. "Everybody on your knees, or I shoot towel boy next!" He pointed to Fuyuki.

Everybody went on their knees slowly. Everybody except Giroro. He had seen guns before, dealt with them.

He wasn't going to let these soldiers die. His party members. He walked forward. "Your hand is shaking...This is your first time with a gun..." He realized.

"I'll shoot!" The robber told him. "I just killed one of you. Do you think I care if you get shot?"

"It takes about 15 bullets to get me to collapse. You have five left it seems. So take your chances." Giroro's voice was filled with confidence.

It unsettled the robber. "D-don't hurt me..."

Giroro came closer.

"Close your eyes, Fuyuki, Natsumi, probably Momoka too."

Momoka did as she was told. Natsumi did not look away.

Giroro slid on the ground and kicked the man in the shins. The man faltered and Giroro grabbed his gun before putting it at his head and firing it.

It was an expert maneuver, it was clear that he had real experience.

And by the end there were two dead bodies on the ground. The unnamed robber, and Saburo.

Keroro just looked green. Really green.

"We have to go." Kululu said coldly. "Before we're discovered. The police are sure to be here." He had to think of himself. Nobody else.

"You...You killed someone, Giroro...Just cuz he killed someone doesn't mean he should have died...Don't you ever read comic books?" Keroro sniffled.

"S-saburo..." Natsumi sniffled, putting her hand on his shirt.

"He...He died because you two were making out, didn't he?" Koyuki realized. "His...His death is kind of on you." She liked both Giroro and Natsumi, but it was the truth. A harsh truth.

"They were doing a little more than making out by the looks of it. Ku, ku, ku. But yeah. Good guards my ass. You killed him with your fling. He wouldn't have even put his life in danger if not for his pathetic ideals of love." Kululu shrugged. That's why he didn't believe in that sort of stuff.

_Dying for a girl who didn't even like you. What a sad way to have it go._

Natsumi never liked seeing death, but as everybody looked at her she realized how true it was.

It was like Aki all over again. Except...Saburo was her fault. She fainted. She just couldn't deal with the memories of Aki...And the knowledge of what had happened to Saburo.

Fuyuki's hands were coated in blood and soon enough he had passed out too. Saburo...One of their friends...Gone forever.

Maybe he should have stayed in the Hinata House. Maybe he had made the wrong choices under Kululu's manipulative words.

Maybe it was his fault, not Natsumi's.

* * *

**The chapter was running a bit long so they'll deal with the repercussions of losing Saburo later. Hopefully I'll remember to have everybody's thoughts on the matter instead of just Kululu, Fuyuki's, Natsumi's and Keroro's.**

**I wanted to name the robber Billybobjoe. His name is now BillybobJoe and his superhero name is Robber man.**

**Saburo lasted...A total of three chapters. Now I do not have to deal with him. Whoo-hoo! Sorry, Saburo. I know you're a main character too.**

**But really, I have written several stories that focus on Saburo a bit more as apologies for my treatment of Saburo. So it is nice to be able to kill him once again. Sorry, it's just in my blood.**

**Please review.**


	30. Flowing Through Veins

**First day of school is tomorrow for me. Hopefully it goes well, and I'll have enough time to update soon.**

* * *

Natsumi's eyes fluttered open. _Please...Let it be a nightmare. _Perhaps when she awoke she'd be surrounded by her friend's and family. Aki would be there, Fuyuki and even Saburo – her...boyfriend? She had never officially broke it off. Her friend, she decided.

She wanted him to be alive.

But when her eye lids opened no such thing was in front of her. To her disgust she felt disappointment when Giroro was in front of her.

_Why? He's not at fault for any of this. He's not the cheater. He's just the other guy! I pulled him into this too. He's the one I chose and he's the one who killed the guy who hurt Saburo. _Why was she disappointed to see him?

Because it meant someone's death was on her conscious. And she wanted a clean conscious.

"Natsumi!" Giroro's smile made Natsumi feel even more disgusted with herself. It was so honestly in love with her and relieved that she was okay. He hugged her tightly and Natsumi wanted to relax into his touch, wanted to cry and let herself feel like everything was all right. "You were out for a while. I was worried."

She looked around. No Saburo. So the reality of the mental hospital, Saburo's death...It had all been true. She had almost hoped to see aliens and Fuyuki's happy tales instead of the truth.

Everybody around her was grief stricken. They were no longer in a bloodied motel. Instead they were in an alley.

"Where are we?" Her words were forced and cold.

"We ran as fast as we could out of the motel. The police were bound to get there eventually. We're a few towns over, because we were constantly on the move. None of us have had any rest." Giroro explained to her.

Everybody did look tired- emotionally and physically.

"Is...Is Saburo...?" Natsumi let her words hang in the air. _Really dead?_

Giroro didn't answer. "What we did...It wouldn't have changed anything, Natsumi. He would still be dead." He tried to console her.

Sure the cheating part didn't eat away at his conscious since he believed that Saburo might have been the better person and still saved Fuyuki's life if Natsumi had called things off, but Natsumi was still hurt by it.

Natsumi glanced at Koyuki. Koyuki didn't make direct eye contact. She lived a truthful life, and she wasn't going to coddle her wounds.

Natsumi looked around at her group to see if all of them were looking at her like she was a murderer. She was no therapist, she couldn't tell how many of them hadn't ever seen a death before. Keroro looked particularly shaken.

_The stupid frog's never seen someone die probably..._She could tell that much.

"G-giroro's...Giroro's right," Keroro tried to console her. "He's dead, Fuyuki isn't. And part of me is glad of that...It's just..." He was turning green again. "Did we really have to kill the robber in cold blood? Maybe he was doing those things for a reason...Maybe he needed the money to help a starving family." He looked at Giroro instead with hatred, an accusing tone.

Saburo's death was mournful to Keroro, but his friend killing someone in cold blood was something even worse.

"It was either him or us. It's like the front lines of a war, sometimes you have to kill to survive." Giroro said coldly.

"I couldn't agree more." Kululu shrugged, "Although I think Saburo's death was pointless and could have easily been avoided if someone had come clean about how much of a whore they were-" He glanced at Natsumi.

Natsumi felt her stomach tighten.

"The robber's death doesn't bother me in the slightest. Ku, ku, ku. We've just learned more about what allies we can trust and which ones we can't. Don't leave Natsumi or Giroro to do anything basically. Because they'd rather screw than help us out."

Giroro grabbed Kululu by the collar about to punch him.

"He's sort of right." Dororo pointed out sadly. He sided with Koyuki. "Not that I wouldn't do the same in your situation! I'm not saying I'm better than you. Very often I'm detached from reality because of my addiction. If I loved someone I'd probably be screwing them too instead of, well...Focusing on helping." Dororo tried to be on both sides.

"Thanks for admitting we can't trust you. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu laughed.

Giroro punched him in the face.

Momoka looked a bit frightened. She didn't want to be in a group that was constantly fighting amongst each other. But she was secretly happy that Saburo had died instead of her or Fuyuki. She grabbed Fuyuki's arm and glanced at him, hoping he agreed with her.

Fuyuki was a bit out of it, so Momoka decided to speak up.

"There's no reason to be pointing fingers. We need to rest, most of us are tired, emotionally and physically." She was a heiress. She needed to be more leaderly. She didn't have time to be focusing on people's deaths.

Tamama nodded. He was looking quite tired. Likely it was the first death he'd seen too. He wasn't clinging to Keroro, so something was clearly off. Even he knew taking advantage of a death was going too far.

The only one who didn't look shaken at all was Angol Mois. Instead she looked very sleepy, trying not to nod off. "Yeah, I would like to rest." She admitted.

"Are you shaken up about the deaths we've witnessed to?" Keroro asked curiously.

Angol Mois shook her head. "Not really. It was just a death. What's the big deal?" She tilted her head to the side not really understanding the concept.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. They had forgotten that likely Kululu wasn't the only psychopath in their party.

Fuyuki's hands shook. "Let's listen to Momoka. We really need to rest. For all our sakes and my sister's."

"Fuyuki..." Natsumi smiled. He was being much more mature in the face of death than her.

"Maybe we can stay at Saburo's place?" Fuyuki smiled and suggested. "I'm sure he'd love to help out our quest."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

_Oh yeah...That's his coping mechanism...When someone dies...He forgets about it immediately. _Natsumi frowned. She couldn't deal with this. Not about Saburo. It would be a constant reminder that Saburo existed.

"Fuyuki..." Natsumi got up. Her voice was cold, she tried to keep the anger out of her voice.

She knew she had an anger problem. She also knew she had no coping mechanisms whatsoever for it. Although Fuyuki had never been at the receiving end of her anger, he was about to be.

He didn't get to forget when she couldn't. "Saburo is dead. You aren't allowed to forget when I can't! He died protecting you for me because he loved me!" She shouted. "He's not a man in black, he's not an alien, and he's got no magical friendship with Kululu. He doesn't fly around on a flying saucer with his virtual reality pen. He's gone!" Her voice was strained and her face was wet with tears.

Fuyuki stepped back in fear. His sister had never yelled at him so much. "W-what...?"

"They're all gone! Mom, Saburo...Grandma...Dad left! And you can't just be living in a lie. I can't take care of that anymore. It's too hard on me! Saburo is dead. And you saw it happen." Natsumi yelled.

Fuyuki started shaking and shaking his head. Keroro put his hand on Fuyuki's shoulder. "Natsumi...That was a bit harsh."

"Guy's got to face reality sometime. Ku, ku, ku." Kululu didn't care.

Fuyuki just looked around at his 'friends' who were supposed to support him as they looked at him as if they didn't have the emotional energy to stop this barrage of verbal attacks. Like he had this coming.

And Fuyuki for a moment felt like they were right. That maybe he deserved this.

Had Saburo died for him?

* * *

Once everybody was finally resting in a run down motel, Natsumi went out for a walk away from the rest of the group. She needed some time to think. About Saburo, about how much she had yelled at Fuyuki...About Giroro, about everything.

Her anger was through the roof. She had never been angrier. She didn't feel the need to punish herself, her group was doing that enough for her, but she felt angry at literally everybody else.

Although she knew Giroro would talk to her about it and understand, she was too angry to think. She just wanted to blame everybody else for her problems. But she also knew that she was here for Fuyuki. She didn't want to hurt him.

So on her walk she took out her anger and let it steam off of her in the only way she knew how- she let it flow through her veins and just did everything it told her to do- which involved punching walls, vending machines, street signs.

She was vandalizing so much. Yelling, laughing, crying, a person might have been in the mix of stop signs but she didn't care.

Her friends weren't around. Nobody was there to stop her. She could finally release all the anger she'd been hiding.

Saburo was dead. What was the worst that could happen? If someone approached her, she'd just kill them as easily as that person had taken Saburo's life.

"Miss- We ask you to please put your fists down and stop hitting things." A group of police officers had come to surround her, and she hadn't even noticed. She had been too angry. She couldn't see anything except her own rage.

"What? Why?" Natsumi asked. If people were surrounding her they wouldn't let her off easy if she just stopped. And she didn't want to stop. Immediately she thought of being separated from Fuyuki and went on the attack. She felt confrontational.

She moved forward to attack a police officer but another one cuffed her. They were more experienced than her. She growled loudly and threw out a slew of cuss words.

"Another mental patient..." Someone sighed. "This girl is clearly deranged. Violent insane impulses and everything."

"So she's not getting a hearing? Not going to be tried?" Another asked.

"We'll locate her family and see if they want to make a case for imprisonment, but I feel like it would be in the poor thing's best interests to be sent to the nearest mental hospital." Another decided.

_No...No! _Natsumi realized. Giroro had warned her. Her anger drained as she realized his reality was becoming her own.

She tried to struggle but she felt a needle stab her neck. She was knocked out.

* * *

Fuyuki was miserable as he tried to think. He had to focus on Saburo's death, remember it. His sister hated that he had forgotten. And he had never seen Natsumi that angry with him.

He almost felt like everyone was sick of him. He was rather quiet for hours as others slept around him trying to blankly get rid of their exhaustion, until he finally spoke.

"Where's sis?" He asked, carefully. Maybe they'd tell him she wasn't around either and that she was dead.

"She went out for a walk." Giroro replied. "I wanted to go with her, but something tells me that she probably wants to be alone right now."

"She left 12 hours ago though." Koyuki pointed out. She was done giving Natsumi the silent treatment. She did like the girl. "You don't think she did something dramatic like killed herself, do you?" She was worried.

Giroro shook his head. "Natsumi isn't the type. If there's anything she did it would be...Damn. I hope she didn't have an angry outburst and get arrested." He stood up and ready to go after Natsumi.

Fuyuki grabbed his arm. "Let me come with you."

"I'll go too." Keroro offered. "Just to make sure she didn't get in trouble,"

Giroro nodded. He hoped his suspicions were wrong.

Keroro grabbed some of Momoka's money in case they needed to pay bail.

* * *

It didn't take long before they interviewed people on the street and learned that Natsumi had in fact had a dramatic outburst and been taken away hours ago. Giroro immediately bolted towards the police station to save Natsumi despite being a fugitive.

"Wait." Keroro frowned. "You have a face that sticks out like a sore thumb. Let me go, I look pretty average and generic." He shrugged, "I can say I'm Natsumi's friend and want to pay her bail."

Giroro reluctantly nodded, but he kept as close to the police station as he could. Fuyuki went with Keroro.

"Hello!" Keroro walked through the doors and greeted one of the officer's at the desk. He sounded friendly and optimistic like he wasn't out of place at all. It easily caught the guards off guard, and they welcomed him not suspecting he was fugitive at all. "I'm here about one of my friend's who got arrested for vandalism. Do I need to pay bail, or...?"

"Oh, her...A Miss Natsumi Hinata was it?" The person at the desk asked.

Keroro nodded.

"You can't pay bail. Her outburst was more than just vandalism. It was a disorder. An angry outburst that is dangerous to society." The receptionist told him.

"Y-you didn't...Execute her did you?" Fuyuki asked. That was illegal, right? And would happen way too quickly.

"Of course not! We cared about the girl and knew if we put her in a jail or something her problem wouldn't get any better. So we arranged to have her sent to the nearest mental hospital." The guard said reasonably.

Keroro paled. He tried not to let that shake him. "Well, she's just a little violent. She's got that whole tsundere attitude thing. Watched a bit too many animes." He tried to explain. "There's no need to send her off, let me pay her bail..."

The guard shook his head. "I'm afraid it's too late...She was already taken away. Don't worry, the hospital we sent her to is nice. It was recently refurbished and put under new management, although...It was closed down for several years...And I heard bad rumors before that, but I'm sure they're not true." He laughed.

"Can...Can we see her?" Fuyuki asked, worriedly. They had already escaped one institution. But he wasn't going to let his sister be trapped in another. "Where...Where did you send her?" Did the Hinata house get her?

"Keron." The guard said simply. "And sure. Tell them Bob sent ya, I'm sure they'll be happy to let her have visitors." He was rather chummy.

Keroro nodded, unhappy with the news that Natsumi had been sent to any institution. But Fuyuki could feel himself shake.

_Wasn't...Wasn't Keron the place Kululu mentioned was worse than the Hinata House? _Suddenly aliens didn't fill his mind, all that was in his mind was real worry for his sister.

He had to face reality, for her sake. Alien dissection probably wasn't in the place called Keron. And neither was an invasion.

Something way worse was there.

* * *

When Keroro and Fuyuki shared the news of what happened with Natsumi to Giroro and the rest of the gang, most of them were furious and worried.

"Well, there's only one thing we really can do." Giroro crossed his arms. "We rescue her. That's that. There is no other option. I'm not letting us abandon Natsumi." He was going to save her.

Koyuki nodded agreeing with him. "Hopefully this Keron place isn't as bad as the Hinata house. But I agree with you. We're a group, and despite Natsumi's mistakes we don't abandon one of our own."

Everybody seemed to be in agreement except two people. Kululu was shaking a little, just shaking his head, he looked mad that their group was even suggesting breaking into a mental hospital, but as if he was weighing his options of how quickly he could ditch them.

Angol Mois on the other hand let out a loud scream.  
"QUIET DOWN!" Tamama yelled at her, "Do you want the other rooms to come here and scold us and figure out who we are?"

"I have to agree with Tamama here, Mois, there's no reason to scream!" Keroro tried to scold her as well.

Angol Mois wouldn't listen though. Her face was paler than it usually was, her eyes were wide, her hands were covering her ears and shaking. Her legs collapsed under her and she fell to the ground.

"NO! No! I'm not going back!" She yelled, "Never ever! I would sooner die than go back." She just shook her head.

"We can leave you here if you want." Giroro suggested, "You really contribute very little to this group. But I am not putting your comfort over Natsumi's."

"Natsumi is dead if she's in that place! Don't you understand that, there is no surviving Keron with a soul intact. She's either dead or worse." Angol Mois shivered. "If you go you'll be found out and then they'll put you in Keron-"

"I'm willing to endure that for Natsumi then. I would rather be there to support her if she's going through hell than leaving her to go through something that bad on her own." Giroro said with full conviction.

Angol Mois looked around as if she could reason with anyone. Giroro had to be the only one that was that stupid. But everybody seemed to be nodding with him.

"Giroro's kind of right, Mois. If you don't want to go...I hate to say it but we need Natsumi. She really helps us out and has helped us escape the Hinata House. She has plans, life skills...You on the other hand..." Keroro bit his lip. He knew his selfish manipulative nature was coming out again. He wasn't very good with weighing one person's comfort over another. When it came to that he always went with his own.

Mois had helped him a lot, but in the end he had more fun fighting with Natsumi than manipulating Mois.

"Well then...This works out for the best then." Kululu finally decided, glancing around and seeing what was happening as everybody threw Mois under the bus. "I have to admit I never really expected that you had stayed at Keron too, but I can understand why you wouldn't want to go back to that place." Kululu grinned at Mois.

"Oooh...Now I feel really bad when Kululu's the only one who's being empathetic." Keroro rubbed his head.

"You too, huh? I knew there was another patient somewhere in the Hinata House." Mois sighed. "W-was...Was it just as bad as what happened to...?"

Kululu shrugged. "I don't know how they treated to, and I'm smart enough not to ask. But this really does work out. Mois and I will stay behind and go with our original smarter plan to flee the country or something and you guys can your risk your freedom on some suicide mission to rescue some loser. Ku, ku, ku."

"You mean...You aren't coming?" Giroro realized.

"Why would I want to go back to Keron. I know Mois's telling the truth." Kululu neglected to mention he also wasn't going to leave Mois. That wasn't as important as the fact that he hated Keron just as much as she did.

Everybody looked awkward. They knew they needed Kululu. He was the only one who could hack security, find out where Natsumi was, and likely they would never succeed without him. They wouldn't even come close to succeeding.

They looked around. It really was a suicide mission without Kululu.

_I need to convince Kululu to come with us. _Fuyuki realized. Or else his sister was doomed. Their group was better together, they couldn't just split off.

"Let's uhhh pack up then and get ready for our mission?" Fuyuki suggested. Everybody nodded.

Fuyuki needed some time alone with Kululu.

He had never manipulated someone before, but he knew sometimes he had to do terrible things to help others.

And if there was anyone who had even a chance to convince Kululu it was him. Because unlike everyone else, he seemed to know more about Kululu than anyone. He was observant, perceptive. He knew that.

Even if...Somehow Kululu wasn't an alien and Natsumi was right about the things she had yelled at him about...He still knew Kululu.

And he knew Kululu had manipulated him to get out of the Hinata House. He knew Kululu needed him for something. And he suspected Kululu had killed Sai Uru.

He knew a lot. And he could use it.

* * *

Fuyuki waited until the others were busy hiding in the park and getting supplies. He looked around for Kululu- this was where they'd leave Kululu and Mois.

He was about to turn the corner at some bush when he heard Mois's hiccup like sobs.

"There, there?" It didn't sound like Kululu was very good at comforting. He didn't really know what to do for some crying girl.

"I...I don't want to go back. I'm scared. B-but...But they...They all didn't care! Even Mr. Keroro is ditching me because he doesn't care." Angol Mois seemed distraught.

"Um...Well it was bound to happen, I mean...Maybe don't put your faith in people who clearly don't want to be around you?" Kululu was really bad at this.

Angol Mois started crying more.

"Ack! I mean, umm...Stop that...It's hard to see you cry. What do I do? Crap, want to see me make a rocket? No...Rocket science won't stop someone crying." He knew so many things except how to stop tears.

"You don't want to be around me though!" She pointed out.

"Well...Umm...Who's staying with you and who isn't? I mean, obviously I don't have that much of a problem being around you. You helped me get out of the Hinata house even though it wasn't in your best interest just because you knew that they were going to give me a lobotomy. You did it for nothing. It would be kind of terrible of me to not do the same for you, when I know Keron probably hasn't changed a bit." Kululu tried to explain.

_Lobotomy? _This was news to Fuyuki. So that was why Kululu didn't want to be caught. If they were caught, it was game over for Kululu.

Absent mindidly, he wondered if Kululu had devised everybody's motives to leave just so he could have an opportunity at escape. Fuyuki didn't blame him if this was the case, but still...He could use this.

"Kululu...Thank you...For sticking by me. I promise I won't let you get caught. I'll do everything in my power to keep us from being found." Angol Mois promised.

"See? There's the terrible Mois I know. Even when in a bad situation yourself, you're looking out for others, like me. And I wasn't going to go to Keron anyway, it's just...Now that you're not going I have a lot more reason to leave the group. Sure they could be useful for some purposes, but you're...You're better."

"Kululu, I...Thank you..." Angol Mois smiled.

Fuyuki tripped in his bush. He knew there was probably some sort of romantic moment going on but he couldn't help ruining it.

Kululu and Angol Mois looked over.

"Sorry! I just...I was wondering if I could talk to Kululu for a moment." Fuyuki smiled.

_Crap...Did he hear about the lobotomy? _Kululu wondered. _Oh well, if he did, what can that little Fuyuki do about it? He's a useless wimp. _He wasn't intimidated.

Kululu nodded and Angol Mois hurried off so Kululu and Fuyuki could have some alone time together.

Fuyuki smiled for a moment. He was confident Kululu would come with. "I need to ask you a favor. Come with us to Keron. Save my sister."

"No." Kululu rejected him firmly.

"Well then." Fuyuki smiled. "This is going to be fun..." He needed to keep calm. It was his first time manipulating someone. "I'll tell everybody about how you killed Sai. I'll tell the authorities...Everybody will know."

Kululu thought for a moment. "You're more observant than I gave you credit for. So you figured out that I killed her? Ku, ku, ku. Then you should be scared, because I could just as easily kill you."

"You won't." Fuyuki said confidently. "Because I told Giroro that if I'm not back in ten minutes, to find you and drop you off at the police station. They'll know who you are and bring you back to the Hinata house." Fuyuki smiled. It was a complete lie. He hadn't told Giroro anything, but now that he knew Kululu was afraid of going back to the Hinata house because of a lobotomy- more so than being killed, he could use that.

"You're lying." Kululu deciphered.

"Might be. But if I died, the Nishizawas would find you. Momoka wouldn't stand for my death." Fuyuki was confident about that.

Kululu's confidence wavered. "Telling people about Sai won't hurt me. I've killed before."

"I'll tell them where you plan to go. And...I'm beginning to realize all your manipulative ways...Somehow in the Hinata house, you gave everyone motives to leave, didn't you? You arranged for Giroro's mother to visit him. I'm sure he wouldn't stand for that...You manipulated everyone. You've made a lot of enemies Kululu that would be happy to learn that you're their enemy." Fuyuki smiled.

Kululu looked frightened for a moment. He wasn't very good at hiding on his own. And the enemies he had made were powerful- especially Momoka. They knew his way of thinking, and although he wanted to pretend he wasn't afraid of Fuyuki he knew that Fuyuki was observant and smart. He knew things about Kululu that Kululu had never told him, like his love for curry. Likely Fuyuki could predict where he would go.

"I promise you, if you don't save my sister I will make sure you get a lobotomy. I will do whatever lies and healing they want me to do, I will become one of them and I will hunt you until my dying days. And then when your mind is gone you won't be yourself anymore. Your intelligence will be gone and you won't have anything." Fuyuki threatened. He no longer looked like a wimpy or frightened boy.

It wasn't like their first meeting. Fuyuki had all the power. Kululu wasn't bound in chains, but Kululu realized how powerless he was.

"What do you want me to do? Hack the systems? Murder the guards? Aren't you against killing?" Kululu tried to convince him that he didn't need him.

"If that's what it takes to save my sister, yes. She'd do the same for me." Something inside him said that Natsumi was his last family. He needed to save her.

"I...I can't..." Kululu finally said. "Even with your threats. If you know about the lobotomy I assume you heard my conversation with Mois. You know I can't just leave her and she's not going so I'm not going-" Kululu tried to put the pressure on Mois instead of him. Fuyuki would have to try to convince Mois and that in his mind was impossible.

"You think I couldn't convince Mois? You've forgotten one thing about her that I understand but you don't. Her views about aliens." Fuyuki smiled. "I'm the only one who knows what her model of cellphone looks like. She's obsessed with that thing. If I told her it was off a cliff she'd jump off a cliff to get it, thinking she could fly. She trusts me because we have the same views." Fuyuki pretended for a moment that aliens didn't exist.

He knew Kululu didn't think he was an alien after all. He was just using Fuyuki's beliefs to manipulate him.

Kululu looked terrified, honestly frightened. "S-she wouldn't...She wouldn't go to Keron just because you told her too. If I said I was going it would be a betrayal to her..."

"If bringing her against her will is what it takes to bring you, I'd do it. I have a lot more allies than you do." Fuyuki spoke confidentially. He knew Koyuki and Giroro were both strong enough to bring her and knew of Kululu's importance.

"I-"

"I'll tell her you have a crush on her if you don't come." Fuyuki used his last threat.

"That is not true." Kululu frowned. He tried to think of a way out of this situation. "If...If we go to Keron to save Natsumi, we're doing it right though. I'm in charge of the situation and planning because we're not getting caught."

Fuyuki smiled. "Deal."

Kululu just could not refuse. Too much was at risk. _I underestimated this Fuyuki kid. He's a dangerous opponent. _

Kululu didn't want to go back to Keron. But for the sake of his freedom from Fuyuki he'd do it.

Because when Fuyuki of all people was your enemy...It was terrifying.

* * *

The group met up at a sort of fountain. Angol Mois assumed she was waving everyone off.

"Well, umm...So I spoke with Fuyuki a bit, and he made some very compelling arguments..." Kululu shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I've decided to come with you to save Natsumi. But we're doing it right and nobody is getting captured and you will listen to my every command."

Giroro smiled. Fuyuki had done it. "Deal!"

"First off...Giroro, put your underwear on your head." Kululu couldn't resist.

Giroro looked confused but did as he was told.

Everybody laughed. Giroro growled realizing he had been played when Kululu was laughing too.

"Wait...But Kululu...You said you weren't going..." Mois looked shocked, "I thought you didn't like that place either?"

"It's probably not as bad as when we were there." Kululu tried to lie, "Although I could understand how it could still be a trigger..."

Mois shook her head frantically and covered her ears. "I..." She didn't want to be on her own, but she wasn't ever going to go back. Even Kululu had abandoned her. Her eyes started to tear up again.

"Look, we'll probably need your abilities to get into random places anyway, because it would be hard to meet up again with you if we split off. Also likely if you were on your own you'd get caught by the Hinata House people. So what I'm saying is...Even though I know you won't like it, come with us." Kululu grit his teeth.

"No!" Angol Mois refused.

Kululu knew this was hard on her. Especially since he knew her fears were valid, but he also didn't want to be separated from her. He needed her to come with. "I'll...I'll be with you every moment when we're there. You can even, I don't know...Hold onto me or something so we don't get separated. You are not going to be captured again. I'll...I'll protect you, mmkay?" He didn't really like vowing embarrassing stuff like this, but Mois really needed it.

"Why do you need me to come with? Why are you even going?" Mois asked.

Kululu looked around awkwardly. Everybody wasn't really watching Mois, they were paying attention to Giroro with his underwear still on his head. He had forgotten to take it off. Kululu answered back in french, confident that nobody else could understand. (Unaware that Momoka could in fact speak the language as well)

"Fuyuki threatened me a bit, and I have to. I'm sorry. But I need you to come with. I...I need you, Mois. I know this is selfish, but you're the only moral support I have..." He knew appealing to her friendship would get her to go. She cared more about him than her well being.

Still, it was true. He wanted her by his side.

Mois did something unexpected and threw herself at him to hug him. The line had really gotten to her, and she was frightened. Kululu was frantically embarrassed, not sure what to do at all. He thought he might pass out.

"I'll go...Just hold my hand the entire time, please. Stay with me." She begged.

Kululu couldn't refuse.

"So...Everything should be fine. Mois's coming with." Kululu bit his lip, not sure how to un tangle himself from her. It was embarrassing.

"We better go off then. For Natsumi's sake." Giroro nodded.

No more time could be wasted.

* * *

**Lots of kurumois this chapter.**

**Anyway, please review. The Keron 'mini arc' or something like that will probably be only two chapters.**


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